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AROUND THE WORLD 



AROUND THE WORLD 



A NARRATIVE IN LETTER 
FORM OF A TRIP AROUND 
THE WORLD FROM OCTO- 
BER, 1907, TO JULY, 1908 



BY 

E. W. STEPHENS 




(Unhtmbta, ^iBHourx 

E. W. STEPHENS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
I 909 



aiNIONl -ML ABEL> 






Copyright, 1909, by 
E. W. STEPHENS 



(O.CI.A361435 



PREFACE 

In the years 1907-8 the writer made a trip around the 
world. He wrote to newspapers some sixty-seven letters in 
narration of what he saw. It has been suggested that these 
letters be republished in a book. This has been done in this 
volume. Its contents are the letters as they were written, with 
a few corrections and additions. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



THE START— 

I. Something of the journey and the reasons 
FOR IT 13 

II. From Missouri to the Sandwich Islands. . 17 

HAWAII— 

III. A Paradise of the Pacific 25 

IV. The trip across 34 

JAPAN— 

V. First impressions of Japan 41 

VI. Further impressions of Japan 47 

VII. The Japanese and their ways 54 

VIII. The Japanese army. Emperor's reception, 
Japanese theater and social customs — 

Universities — the city of Tokio 61 

IX. Art and other things Japanese 69 

X. Numerous facts of interest about Japan. . 76 

XL A FINAL word about Japan 82 

XII. From Japan to China — Korea 90 

CHINA— ■ 

XIII. China 99 

XIV. From the interior of China 105 

XV. Chinese customs and characteristics 113 

XVI. From Shanghai to Pekin 120 

XVII. Pekin 127 

XVIII. The Great Wall, the Empress Dowager 

AND OTHER CHINESE CURIOS 137 

XIX. China and things Chinese 145 

XX. Hong Kong and Canton 153 

XXI. Some Chinese aftermath 160 

(7) 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Grand Canon of Arizona . . . Frontispiece "^ 

In Hawaii ........ lyv 

On Beach at Honolulu ...... 23 

In Japan ........ 39 

Sacred Bridge at Nikko, Japan .... 48- 

Japanese VVoaien, Riksha.s and Temple.s . . . . 64, 

Scenes in China ....... 97, 112"^ 

In Pekin .... ... 128 -^ 

Summer Palace in Pekin ...... i45'^ 

In the Philippines ...... i69'--^ 

In Manila . . . . . . . . 193 1^ 

In Java ........ 207 ./' 

In Burma h . . . . . . 231, 240' 

ScHWE Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon ..... 256- 

Women Burden Bearers in India .... 265 1--- 

Great Mosque in Delhi ...... 272 l 

Drinking Out of Cocoanuts, Snake Charmers . . 280 

Burning Dead Bodies in India ..... 2SS 

Bathing in the Ganges . . . . . . 296 '- 

Taj Mahal ........ 304 \ 

KuT.\B MiNAR Monument . . . . . 3^2 1' 

At Jeypore, India ....... 3201/ 

Elephants in Ceylon ...... 3-'^*^'' 

Suez Canal ........ 343 ''^ 

Egyptian Pyramids ...... 3^2 l^ 



SOMETHING OF THE JOURNEY AND THE REASONS FOR IT. 

A desire to see the world is, I think, neither unreasonable nor 
unnatural. So far as I have observed this desire is well nigh 
universal. That is surely a strange, even an abnormal sort of 
man or woman who would not behold the world in which he lives. 
I confess that 1 am no exception to the general rule. I thought 
it would be an education. It was. It gave, within a brief 
period, a knowledge of other countries and a subsequent interest 
in them which a lifetime of study had not acquired. Repeatedly 
an hour, even a few minutes of observation, dissipated years of 
incorrect conception. It is difficult to form a definite or tangible 
idea of any place which one has not seen. The imagination 
is a poor substitute for observation. 

It is a strenuous physical proposition, this taking of a tour 
of the globe. The changes of climate, the exposure to disease, 
the bad food and worse water, the strain of incessant travel, and 
of contact and worry with all kinds of curious and stupid and 
unreasonable people, the sensation of loneliness when one realizes 
he is separated by many thousands of miles from home and na- 
tive land, these and many other trials and difficulties render 
travel of that distance an undertaking to which only the phys- 
ically strong are equal. Hence I concluded to take it while I 
was yet in the possession of physical strength, while eyesight 
and hearing were sound, before many ills might come to dis- 
qualify for the task. 



14 Around the World. 

I regarded it a safe investment. Stocks and bonds and lands 
and various branches of business are subject to depreciation 
and may be swept away. But a knowledge gained by travel, which 
is by far more vivid and permanent than any that can be 
oibtained from books, abides. Memory preserves it as an ever 
present joy and profit. I did not miscalculate. Now that the 
tour is over 1 have an asset which I would not exchange for the 
time and money it cost. Nothing so broadens and benefits as 
travel. Nothing so narrows as a limited environment. 

Another reason which impelled the trip was that a knowledge 
might be acquired which would be helpful to others. . Visits 
to the mission fields, contact with the social, religious, commercial 
and political conditions of the various peoples, a study of their 
habits, life and systems of thought, and of their history and 
peculiarities awaken a sympathy for humanity and a 
knowledge of their needs which must stimulate every intelligent 
and human observer to a loftier purpose and a broader philan- 
thropy. 

Our party of four, all of Columbia, iMissouri, left that city 
on Tuesday, October 8, 1907. 

We went westward, because we preferred to undertake the 
long ocean voyage across the Pacific at the beginning than at 
the close of our tour, and because we felt that it would be 
wiser to attempt the strenuous journeys and experience among 
the yellow races while we were yet fresh. 

The journey consumed nine months and nine days. We spent 
one week in Honolulu, one month in Japan, seven weeks in 
China, a month in the Philippines, the Malacca States ajid 
Java and traveling, a month in India, three weeks in Egypt and 
traveling, seven weeks in Palestine, and a month making the trip 



A Resume of the Journey. 15 

from the latter country home. We were compelled, on account 
of the heat, to make our visits to Turkey, Greece, Italy, France 
and England very brief. But as we had previously visited all of 
these countries except Turkey and Greece we did not care to 
linger upon our return journey. 

We traveled 36,000 miles, 25,000 by water and 11,000 by 
land. We were upon twenty-five steamships, visited eighteen 
countries and over one hundred points of interest. We were not 
in a storm nor in a steamship or railway accident. We were not 
ill, not even sea sick. But we did long for home. The natives 
and the food and climate got fearfully on our nerves. Outside 
accidents of a not dangerous nature to two members of our party 
we were not detained an hour by illness or mishap. Nor did 
we meet with any discourtesy or unfriendliness. Two facts were 
made manifest : That the provisions for travel are comfortable 
and excellent the world around, and that among travelers, none 
receive better treatment, and few so good as Americans. One 
who travels around the world returns with the profound con- 
viction not only that America is the greatest and freest and 
happiest country of all, but that Americans are held in esteem 
by other nations as are no others. 

Summing it all up : The trip is well worth while for every 
one who can afford the expenditure of time, energy and money. 
Such expenditure is not materially greater than is the same 
amount which the person of average intelligence and ambition 
puts forth in the ordinary occupations and outlays at home. 
The facilities for travel are so excellent, the paths so well beaten 
that the way-faring man, though he only speak the English 
language, need not err therein. In the very few places where 
English is not spoken interpreters are easily available. The 



16 Around the World. 

dangers from disease and accident are not more serious than 
they are at home, and as has been said the interest on the 
investment is a large one which increases as the years roll on. 
Railroads are rapidly penetrating the regions hitherto inaccessi- 
ble. Within a few years it will be possible to reach, by rail, the 
most hidden recesses of Asia and Africa. Already facilities of 
travel extend far enough to satisfy the curiosity of all but the most 
restless and ambitious explorers, and there is practically no place 
reached by railroad or steamship to which one cannot go with 
safety. The white wings of peace overspread the world. 




IN HAJVAIl 



II. 

FROM MISSOTJRI TO THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

It goes without sa3ang that no land is equal to ours. One of the 
comforts of a trip around the world is that one is confirmed in 
the belief. When we had finished the first five days of our jour- 
ney, that from Missouri to San Francisco, we felt satisfied that 
we would behold nothing to surpass that which we had traveled 
over. It is a pleasure to be able, at the end, to realize that our 
opinion was correct. For where else are there such prairies, such 
woodlands, such rivers, such soil, such farms and cities, such prod- 
ucts, such live stock, such enterprise and progress as in Missouri 
and Kansas? Where such cosmopolitanism and such manifesta- 
tion of the progressive spirit of modern civilization ? 

Where such scenery as that in Colorado and Arizona? Where 
such mineral wealth as that which lies embosomed in the Rocky 
Mountains? Where such climate, such prodigality of fruit and 
flowers as in Southern California? And where such another 
illustration of recuperative energy and indomitable pluck as that 
demonstrated in San Francisco, in its resurrection from fire and 
earthquake ? 

We went by way of the Santa Fe Railroad upon one of its 
splendid vestibuled trains, with its observation, sleeping and din- 
ing and parlor cars, its electric lights, barber shops, a great hotel 
on wheels, running at rate of thirty miles an hour through scenery 
of unsurpassed beauty. No other experience more readily recalls 
the marvelous progress that has been wrought within the last 

2 



18 Around the World. 

half century as does the transformation of the Great American 
Desert into an abode of flourishing cities and smiling farms, and 
of the method of traversing it from the ox wagon to the modern 
express train. 

The most noteworthy bit of scenery along the route is the 
Grand Canon of the Arizona, lying north of the main line of the 
Santa Fe sixty-four miles, which is reached by a branch railroad 
from Williams, Arizona. Nowhere have we beheld, nor do 
we believe there is a more wonderful, beautiful, sublime freak 
of nature. In richness of coloring, in curious and diversified 
conformation, in majestic grandeur it has no parallel. The Colo- 
rado river, by ages of erosion, has rent a defile in the earth two 
hundred miles long, fifteen miles wide and a mile deep. The 
earth has been cut into all manner of curious and fantastic shapes, 
until it resembles a vast field of architecture extending as far 
and farther than the eye can reach and it does not require an 
active imagination to fancy it a vast aggregation of castles and 
minarets, and towers and temples of every style of architecture. 
Upon a former visit we descended to the river, which from above, 
looks to be but a mere branch. But the trip requires a day, is 
tiresome, and not altogether free from peril. Our party was 
caught in a thunderstorm, and the writer came near being thrown 
over a precipice. The trip is not worth the risk. The best view 
of the canon is from the river. There is a fine hotel there, and 
the climate during the spring, summer and fall, is delightful. No 
tourist to the west can afford to miss a visit to this, the greatest 
curiosity in America, not excepting Niagara Falls, the Yosemite, 
or Yellowstone Park. 

In various portions of Arizona and New Mexico are remains 
of the ancient cliff dwellings. We visited several galleries of 



To the Sandwich Isles. 19 

them in a cliff near Espanola, New Mexico, north of Santa Fe. 
Rising abruptly from a beautiful natural park of pines is a lofty 
hill of soft yellow stone, called tufa, out of which has been 
chiseled over a hundred feet from the base and for over a mile, 
many chambers, of which there are several tiers and which are 
accessible from anterior galleries. These are ten or twelve feet 
in depth and width and seven feet in height, and some of them 
contain several chambers. 

Upon the summit of the hill are the remains of a large stone 
building of probably a thousand rooms, surrounded by a wall, and 
probably once used as a fort. The location commands a view 
of the plain for many miles and was probably selected as a pro- 
tection against enemies. The dwellings, which were once occu- 
pied by Pueblo Indians, have been abandoned for many centuries. 
The fragments of broken pottery indicate the nationality and 
occupation of the inhabitants. 

California is ever interesting. It is unique. By which we mean 
that it is unlike any other State or country. Its scenery, its fruits, 
its climate are sui generis. Its fruits are bigger and different 
from those elsewhere, but we are not prepared to admit that they 
are better. With the exception of oranges they are hardly so 
good. They lack flavor. Its flowers are incomparable. There 
the possibilities of irrigation have been demonstrated. Unirri- 
gated Southern California is largely a desert. What irrigation 
has done for California it is destined to do for New Mexico, 
Arizona, and all the arid plains. 

Where else in America do we find any region so nearly resem- 
bling our conceptions of paradise as in Southern California? 
Where such profusion of fruits and flowers, as in Los Angeles 
and Pasadena and Riverside and Redlands and San Bernardino? 



20 Around the World. 

Where such health and pleasure resorts as Los Angeles, Pasadena, 
Santa Barbara, Monterey and Catalina ? No wonder that wealth, 
which gets everything good, has fastened its covetous eyes upon 
this beautiful region, and that in few sections of America, if in 
the world, there is a larger number of magnificent homes of 
the very wealthy than are to be found all over it. 

From the time one enters California at Needles until he leaves 
it at San Francisco or the Oregon line the scene is one of ceaseless 
interest. The State is one great valley with ranges of mountains 
upon both west and east. Great fields of wheat and raisins and 
barley and alfalfa, mammoth vineyards, groves of lemon and 
orange trees, stretch to the blue sky on the mountain ranges upon 
either side, except where the arid desert lies, and here the beauti- 
ful mirage greets the eye, and one may easily fancy he discerns 
ships sailing over a placid sea and amid green islands, when all 
is in reality a sandy plain. 

Bakersfield, Stockton, Fresno, Merced, San Jose, Sacramento, 
Santa Rosa, and many other beautiful and prosperous cities lie 
along the route, and not far from the coast, Palo Alto, the site 
of the Leland Stanford University, many of whose buildings 
were yet in ruins, is passed. 

Among the most interesting features of California are the enor- 
mous stock ranches owned by men of great wealth. They may 
be found in the central and northern sections, where the rainfall 
is ample and the country does not rely upon irrigation. Immense 
pastures afiford grazing for thousands of blooded horses, sheep 
and cattle, and the life upon these ranches and the fortunes they 
yield their owners read like stories of romance. 

When we reached San Francisco it was in the midst of its 
rebuilding from the great earthquake and greater fire. That 



To the Sandwich Isles. 21 

was over a year ago, and the scene of confusion was such that one 
took his life in his hands to find his way through the streets. 
But since then a new San Francisco has risen upon the site of 
the old one, and is about as different as 1909 is from 1849. 
Time will come when there will be no greater city in America 
or in the world. For is it not the gateway to the Pacific? And 
is not the Pacific destined henceforth to be the chief center of 
political and commercial activity? 

Already the city is growing with rapid strides. Together with 
the adjacent cities of Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley its pro- 
portions have become enormous, and they will grow in the ratio 
of our rapidly increasing commerce with the Orient. The city 
has long since passed the era of the pioneer and the adventurer 
and is in every sense a great metropolis. 

After a few days spent in San Francisco we sailed on Octo- 
ber 16 upon the steamer China, once regarded the largest steam- 
ship upon the Pacific, but now the smallest of the Pacific Mail 
steamers. Several of the latter are nearly twice as large. 

On board were several missionaries sailing to various countries 
in the orient, and about half of the passengers were bound for 
Honolulu, where they resided, and which we reached after a 
fairly pleasant and uneventful voyage of a week. 



HAWAII. 



III. 

A PARADISE OF THE PACIFIC. 

Honolulu, November i, 1907. 

This is the name which travelers have given to the Hawaiian 
Islands. After a visit of eight days to one of them, the Island 
of Oahii, upon which the city of Honolulu is situated, I am pre- 
pared to confirm the wisdom and fitness of the name. Nowhere 
with the possible exception of Switzerland have we beheld such 
a composite picture of mountain, valley and ocean, and such a 
symphony of emerald color of them all. The scene is one of 
almost entrancing beauty. But what heightens its attractions is 
the delightful climate, the balmy air, the glorious sunshine, never 
too hot, and which alternates with almost daily rains, the latter 
giving a fresh and radiant hue to the vegetation to which the sun 
adds a yet more brilliant color. The soil is a bright red, which 
contrasts beautifully with the grass and flowers, plants and 
trees. 

The islands lie two thousand miles southwest of San Fran- 
cisco and in the same latitude as southern Cuba, Vera Cruz, 
Mexico, Hong Kong, Calcutta and Central Africa. The climate 
is distinctly tropical and the heat would be great but for the 
trade winds which blow incessantly and preserve a temperature 
the year around which rarely rises above eighty degrees or sinks 
below seventy. They tell us that they bathe in the ocean on 
Christmas and New Year's and that the water is not much chillier 
on those days than it is on the Fourth of July. On November i 
we found sea bathing fully as comfortable as Missouri waters are 
in August. 

(25) 



26 Around the World. 

VEGETATION AND HOMES. 

The most attractive feature to a Missourian, who for the first 
time visits a tropical country, is the profusion and luxuriance 
of the vegetation. Stately cocoanut palms, banyan trees and 
numerous others give to the landscape a rich tropical aspect, while 
the beautiful flowers, which bloom perennially, and well-kept 
lawns add a variety of coloring that is highly attractive. The 
city of Honolulu, where our ship lands, contains some forty 
thousand people and is the largest city upon the island. It has 
many large business houses, wide and well-kept streets, but its 
chief beauty is in its dwellings, many of which are of the bunga- 
low architecture and are surrounded by large and beautiful yards 
in which the trees and flowers grow in luxuriant profusion. There 
is much wealth among the white residents, many of whom have 
lived here many years and some of whom were born here. No 
expense has been spared by the wealthier classes in the adorn- 
ment of their homes. As a place of residence, Honolulu possesses 
many features that are unique. 

LOCAL INSTITUTIONS. 

There are three splendid hotels, the Alexander Young, the 
Royal Hawaiian and the Moana, all owned by Mr. Alexander 
Young, and nearly without guests at this season of the year. We 
stopped at the Moana and have not seen its superior in America 
or Europe. It not only has a fine table and delightful rooms, 
but it is upon the seashore at Wakiki Beach, affording its guests 
the additional attraction of bathing in the surf. 

Oahu College is an institution of learning attended by six 
hundred boys and girls, young men and women, and under ex- 
cellent management. It has a large faculty presided over by Mr. 
Matthew Griffith, formerly of New York, and among the teach- 



A Paradise of the Pacific. 27 

ers is Miss Isabel Gregg, who graduated from Missouri Uni- 
versity in 1887. The school has an endowment of over $300,000, 
has grounds covering nearly seventy acres, dormitories for girls 
and boys and several buildings for educational work. In company 
with Mr. P. C. Jones, treasurer and chief benefactor of the insti- 
tution, w^e had the pleasure of attending chapel exercises and 
addressing the students and we were deeply impressed with the 
admirable equipment and management. 

There is a large central church in which all denominations wor- 
ship. But there are also Christian, Methodist and Catholic 
churches and a large native church, the oldest church building 
on the island. We attended services at the last-named church 
and were impressed especially with the music. The Hawaiians 
are natural musicians. Their voices possess a melody we have 
heard nowhere else. 

A Queen's hospital, a large canning factory for pineapples, 
a penitentiary, state house and judiciary building, the latter the 
former palace of the king, are among other places of interest. 

THE ISLANDS. 

There are eight islands in the Hawaiian group. The largest is 
Hawaii, with an area of 4,000 square miles. Oahu, 
upon which Honolulu is situated, has an area of 598 
square miles. The distance around all the islands is 
957 miles and around Oahu is 177 miles. The total population 
of the islands is 154,000. Of these 60,000 are Japanese, 35,000 
natives, 25,000 Chinese, 15,000 Portuguese, 7,000 Americans and 
1,730 British. The total area of the group is 6,449 square miles, 
about one-tenth that of the State of Missouri. The chief indus- 
try is the growing of sugar, of which it is claimed twenty-six 
millions of dollars' worth are annually exported. Pineapples are 



28 Ai'ound the World. 

also being grown considerably. I visited one plantation which is 
said to produce more pineapples than any other in the world. 
Rice is also produced in large quantities and among the fruits 
bananas and alligator pears and papia and poi, the latter three 
being popular native fruits, are grown in abundance. The poi 
is made from the root of a plant called taro and is very popular 
food with the natives. It is a pasty, fermented food, something 
like mush and when sweetened by sugar is very palatable. The 
natives live upon it largely and eat it without sweetening it. 
Papia is a melon and a sort of compromise between a cantaloupe 
and a squash. Oranges are not grown to any extent. There is 
a native orange but it is not popular. There are no apples or 
peaches, or in fact, any of the fruits of the temperate climates. 
Nor are there any of the cereals, as wheat or corn or barley or any 
of the grasses common to America. But the grass grown on the 
lawns is fully as green and tougher than our Missouri bluegrass. 
Riding on a railroad train through a large sugar plantation in 
the island of Oahu I asked a young man sitting opposite if he 
could tell me what manner of grass we were passing through. He 
answered that it was sugar and looked at me and smiled. I at 
once inquired of him if he had ever seen a wheat field or a corn 
field and he said no. I looked at him and smiled. We got better 
acquainted and mutually smiled. I confess I had never before 
seen sugar growing, although I have been in Louisiana more than 
once. Nor had I ever seen a pineapple plantation. 1 would not 
be surprised but that this volume has readers who never saw 
either. For the benefit of such I will say that sugar cane grows 
as thick and rank as rye does in Missouri and looks something 
like it. The stalk becomes as heavy as corn. It has to be con- 
stantly irrigated and fertilized. 



A Paradise of the Pacific. 29 

PINEAPPLES. 

The growth of pineapples has not been as long continued as 
sugar, but it promises to be equally as profitable. The pineapple 
plant does not require irrigation, but has to be enriched with 
fertilizers heavily charged with iron. The plant resembles the 
old-fashioned Missouri flower known as the Devil's Darning 
Needle, and is set in rows several feet apart. The ground is 
frequently cultivated and kept free of weeds. It yields about 
$i8o worth of fruit to the acre and is a very sure crop. In 
few other places in the world is the growth of the fruit more 
successful. 

FISH AND SEA FOOD. 

An universal and delightful article of diet is the fish, crabs, 
lobsters and other of the aqueous tribe taken from the ocean. 
They possess an especially fine flavor. The fish are something 
wonderful. Probably the most interesting institution in Honolulu 
is the aquarium. Nowhere else in the world can fish be found of 
more remarkable and diversified shapes and coloring. It has to be 
seen to be appreciated. Green, striped, speckled, purple, orange, 
Hue, fishes of most grotesque and curious shapes, reflecting 
every color of the rainbow and of all shades and designs are to 
be seen. It is almost worth a trip to Honolulu to see this pisca- 
torial marvel. 

BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. 

Several miles from the city of Honolulu is an elevated point 
'Called the Pali, to which we were taken in automobiles and from 
which there is a magnificent view of the island and ocean. The 
scene is rarely equaled anywhere in the world. The mountains 
and valleys and ocean, in multiform coloring, present a scene of 
.;gorgeous beauty. The Pali overlooks a dizzy precipice, over 



30 Around the World. 

which it is said Kimahamaha I drove thousands of an army when 
he first took possession of the island of Oahu over a century ago. 
The bones of some who were thus destroyed, it is claimed, can 
still be found in the valley below. Most of the island is moun- 
tainous and all was evidently of volcanic origin. Only the val- 
leys are susceptible of cultivation. In the island of Hawaii, where 
the city of Hilo is situated, there is a large volcano still in erup- 
tion. Near Honolulu is the extinct crater of a volcano called 
Punchbowl, in the rear of which is a lofty mountain called Tan- 
talus, from which there is a splendid view of the island. We took 
an excursion by rail around one half the island, returning by a 
different route, part of the way by carriage. We do not remem- 
ber having seen in the same distance more attractive scenery. 

RELIGION. 

The Hawaiian Islands, while first discovered by Capt. Cook in 
1778, were originally settled by the Christian missionaries, the 
descendants of many of whom are now among the wealthiest of 
the resident population. The development of the islands and their 
great wealth and commercial importance are the direct result of 
Christian missions. There are two hundred and seventy-six 
heathen and religious organizations of different kinds in 
the islands, with a total membership of sixty-seven thou- 
sand, three hundred and thirty-eight. But of these, forty 
thousand are Buddhists. Of the Christian churches there are one 
hundred and fifteen Catholic, containing twelve thousand mem- 
bers, and one hundred and forty Protestants, with a membership 
of fifteen thousand, three hundred and eighty-eight. The Prot- 
estant churches are divided as follows : Congregational, ninety ; 
Latter Day Saints, twenty; Methodist, twelve; Episcopal, ten; 
and Christian, five. In Honolulu there is a flourishing Y. M. C. A. 
organization under the supervision of Mr. Paul Super, formerly 



A Paradise of the Pacific. 31 

of Columbia, Missouri, who is doing efficient work. Moral condi- 
tions, so far as we could observe, are as wholesome as they are in 
the States. 

A LEPER ISLAND. 

On one of the islands is a leper colony, where are some one 
thousand lepers. The disease has been brought from the Orient, 
but the number of lepers has been reduced nearly one-half by 
efficient treatment. The disease is not regarded contagious, nor 
is it always hereditary. There are institutions on the islands for 
the children of leprous parents and many of them never develop 
the disease. The disease is incurable, but its effects are greatly 
mitigated, and it is said, hopeless as are the conditions of the 
lepers, they are about as happy as other people. The United States 
will soon erect an institution called a Leprosarium, upon the 
island, in which indigent lepers will be treated, and scientific men 
are making strenuous effort to discover an antitoxine to destroy 
the germ which has already been clearly defined. 

A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. 

It is a novel and interesting experience to observe how a busy 
and prosperous population gets along with but one mail in one 
or two weeks and but one method of reaching the outside world, 
two thousand miles away. Think of waiting two weeks for the 
mail or to go away or to get a daily newspaper and you will 
probably be better satisfied in not living on a main line of railway. 
A pathetic story is told of the period when there was no cable 
communication with America. King Kalakaua had been upon 
a visit to this country and was expected to return upon a certain 
steamer. A great festival had been prepared and the city was 
decorated and a public holiday given in honor of the event. A 
large concourse of people had gone to the wharf to receive him, 



32 Around the World. 

when to their consternation and horror the steamer arrived bear- 
ing not the live king, but his corpse. He had died in San Fran- 
cisco only the week previous. Rude shocks often come to those 
who live in these isolated places. 

ANGLO-SAXON DOMINATE. 

The island also illustrates how the Anglo-Saxon race will dom- 
inate all others, even in isolated conditions. While there are not 
over eight thousand Americans and Englishmen on the island, 
they are practically in control of all the business enterprises and 
sway nine-tenths of the social, political and religious influence. 
The natives are a kindly disposed people of dark complexion, but 
they do not possess great strength of character, have the easy- 
going and self-indulgent natures cormmon to the tropics and are 
gradually diminishing in number and must ultimately be 
absorbed by the dominant race or disappear. The Jap- 
anese comprise by far the largest part of the population, but 
are chiefly utilized as laborers and do not undertake to cope with 
the white race in the control of the government or in commercial 
affairs. There are not so many Chinese, but they too, while 
liked and regarded more trustworthy than the Japanese, are a 
subordinate and serving class. I do not remember to have seen, 
in proportion to the size of the population, more college bred 
men. The intelligence and ability of the white population, their 
social position and their moral and religious influence is of a 
high order. 

A UNITED STATES TERRITORY. 

For ten years or more these islands have belonged to the United 
States. Mr. Cleveland opposed strenuously the effort to annex 
them and they were acquired under the administration of Mr. 
McKinley. It must be admitted they were a. valuable acquisition. 



A Paradise of the Pacific. 33 

They hold the key to the Pacific and when the Panama Canal 
shall have been finished, they will be of great value to our coun- 
try. It behooves the United States to fortify them and to estab- 
lish such a means of communication with them, to make them 
so accessible as to render impossible a seeming present menace 
that any other nation, especially the Japanese, shall get control 
of them. 

The government is territorial. There are a governor and other 
territorial officials and a system of courts appointed by the Pres- 
ident of the United States and a legislature elected by the people. 
Laws are enforced and conditions are quiet and peaceful. 

We left this Ocean Oasis with deep regret, doubting whether 
in our circle around the world we would find any one spot that 
is more interesting and attractive. Yet, beautiful as they are they 
do not hold out attractions to men of moderate means, or to 
laboring people. The land is practically all owned by a 'few 
large syndicates, while the labor is monopolized by Japanese and 
Chinese. There is practically no room for more people, for large 
corporations have a monopoly of nearly, if not all, the arable 
land. 



IV. 
THE TEIP ACROSS. 

When we boarded the good ship Manchuria at Honolulu and 
waved our adieus to its hospitable people, who in accordance with 
a beautiful custom had, as we departed, garlanded us with flowers, 
we realized for the first time that we had cut loose our moorings 
from native land, and were indeed upon our journey around the 
world. We could not repress a sigh of regret in bidding farewell 
to that land of flowers, lovely climate and delightful scenery 
which we scarcely expect to see surpassed. 

As voyages across the Pacific are not as familiar to most people 
as are those over the Atlantic, a somewhat detailed story of our 
trip from Missouri to Japan may be of interest. 

The distance is 7,873 miles, or nearly one-third that around 
the globe. It consumed thirty-two days. It could have been made 
in twenty. We stopped twelve days en route. 

There was no delay or accident or discomfort. We were 
not sea sick. The accommodations were all that could have been 
desired. The officials were uniformly courteous. The trip was 
made in October and November and the weather was uniformly 
pleasant. 

While the steamships upon the Pacific may not be as luxurious 
as some of the larger ocean liners on the Atlantic, they are fully 
as comfortable and the larger ones equally as steady. We 
had no storms to test the vessels, but do not believe that the Man- 
churia, upon which we made most of the trip, would have 
tossed ITS about very badly. 

(34^) 



Acros's the Pacific. 35 

We were upon two ships en route. We sailed from San Fran- 
cisco upon the China, once regarded the largest steamship upon 
the Pacific, but now the smallest of the Pacific mail steamers. 
It is 440 feet long. Twenty years ago there was not a ship upon 
the Pacific that large. 

We left that ship at Honolulu and after remaining there eight 
days, took the Manchuria. It is what might be called a floating 
palace. It is 640 feet long, has a capacity of 27,000 tons, and can 
carry two thousand people, 350 first class, 1,400 steerage and its 
crew, which consists of 273, of whom 46 are white and 227 Chin- 
ese and Japanese. It is a twin-screw steamer, and its two shafts, 
to which are attached the propellers, are 265 feet long and eigh- 
teen inches in diameter. It consumes 170 tons of coal daily and 
leaves with 3,663 tons of coal and 3,000 tons of water. The 
officers are courteous and the service throughout is excellent. The 
fare is all that could be desired. The speed of the vessel is be- 
tween fifteen and sixteen miles an hour. The distance from 
San Francisco to Yokohama is 5,580 miles. The trip was made 
in 17 days. 

There were one hundred and twenty cabin passengers aboard. 
Most of them were from the United States, but there were En- 
glish, Chinese and Japanese. Some were returning to their 
homes in Asia, some were going to take official positions in for- 
eign consulates, some were globe-trotters like ourselves, and there 
were twenty-five who expect to engage in missionary work in 
foreign lands. It was a cosmopolitan, congenial and interesting 
company who employed themselves in reading, music, garr^es, 
conversations and in amusements improvised aboard. 

There is no rest like that of an ocean voyage. Its isolation and 
quiet and its pure and invigorating air, as well as the restful- 



36 Around the World. 

ness imparted by the limitless and ever sounding sea have a tran- 
quihzing and health-imparting effect unequalled by any other ex- 
perience with which I am acquainted. 

In this busy age when we are so tired and torn by business 
there is inexpressible relief in the emancipation of ocean travel. 

A trip of twelve days with people of so many nationalities, 
of diverse experiences, of high intelligence and broad information 
is a rich contribution to one's stock of knowledge, and if the time 
is properly utilized in extending acquaintance with fellow pas- 
sengers, the results are of incalculable value. 

In crossing the ocean we lose one day. This takes place at 
the i8oth degree of longitude and it makes up for the time 
lost between Greenwich and the i8oth degree. Therefore, when 
we had spent Sunday night we woke up on Tuesday morning. 
Monday we cut out. So we have lost one day out of our lives. 
Unfortunately, however, it is not the only day we have lost. 
We wish it had been, for the others were lost through our fault 
and not by reason of the calendar. 

Our experience upon the Pacific, different from that upon the 
Atlantic, is its utter loneliness. Between San Francisco and Hon- 
olulu we descried but one ship, while from Honolulu to Japan 
in a trip of twelve days we did not see one, and besides an occa- 
sional bird and a few flying fish not a sign of life. Some of the 
passengers claim to have seen a whale or two, but these have 
practically abandoned the track of sea ships and the journey 
from the Americas to the Asiatic coast may be said to be one 
unbroken monotony of sea and sky. 

Among those aboard the Manchuria were Mr. Mitsui, the Rock- 
efeller of Japan, and Mr. Masuda, his secretary, who is said to 
be the highest salaried man in Japan. They were traveling around 



Across the Pacific. 37 

the world. Mr. Mitsui is said to be worth over a hundred milHon 
of dollars and to own coal mines, banks, steamship lines and other 
properties without limit. Dr. H. M. Hamill, formerly of Mexico, 
Missouri, now of Nashville, Tennessee, was among the passengers. 
With his wife, he was en route to Japan to remain some months 
in Sunday School missionary work. 

There are three routes across the Pacific, one starting from 
Seattle, another from Vancouver, and the Pacific mail from San 
Francisco, but the latter is said to be the most pleasant at this sea- 
son of the year. 




JN JAPAN— Our Party Touring hi Rikshas— Statue of Buddha- 
Procession of School Children in Kioto 



JAPAN. 



V. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF JAPAN. 

Standing upon deck about ten o'clock on Sunday night, No- 
vember 10, we descried a light at sea, which was followed by 
another and then another. The captain informed us that the 
lights were from Japanese fishing boats. A thrilling, almost un- 
canny sensation crept upon us as peering out into the darkness at 
this gruesome hour we beheld these flickering warnings that we 
were nearing the Orient. They were the first physical evidences 
of the far-away land to which we had been sailing for eighteen 
days and which had existed heretofore only in our dreams. The 
captain gently urged us to be quiet and retire to our stateroom 
and sleep peacefully in the confidence that we would wake up in 
Asia. We endeavored to follow his directions, but tossed rest- 
lessly in our berth as visions of the morrow perpetually haunted 
our slumber. At three o'clock a. m. the ship stopped, and we 
knew we were there. At the earliest dawn after a hasty toilet we 
rushed upon deck and sure enough there was — Asia. At first 
only the twinkling of the myriad electric lights from hundreds of 
ships and from the city of Yokohama were visible. But quite 
soon the mists lifted and we found ourselves in a beautiful harbor, 
in some respects similar to New York, wherein were ships from 
all parts of the world, while beyond lay the mountains of Japan. 
We will never forget it. 

THE SPECTACLE THAT WAS ABOUT US. 

Directly in front lay a large French steamer, floating the colors 
of that Republic. Just beyond was the Korea, one of the finest 



42 Around the World. 

liners of the Pacific Mail. To the right were numerous Japanese 
steamers, while to the left lay helplessly upon its side a large ship, 
which we were told had been upturned in a typhoon. Whereat 
we grew nervous, as we remembered that we were in the latitude 
of typhoons. All about were countless smaller craft. There is 
always vexatious delay in entering a port for the doctor must 
come aboard and go through the farce of an inspection of the 
passengers. While this comedy was being enacted we had op- 
portunity to survey the shore. The most conspicuous object in 
sight was Fuji jama, Japan's largest and sacred mountain and chief 
physical glory. It is fourteen thousand feet high, the same height 
as Pike's Peak, and is covered with perpetual snow. It is a per- 
fect cone, and claimed to be the most symmetrical mountain in 
the world. Only Popocatepetl in Mexico or Mount Rainier in 
Washington are said to rival it in beauty. The Japanese are 
justly proud of it, and pictures of it are to be found surmount- 
ing many of their works of art, ornamenting postal cards and letter 
heads and much attractive advertising. The shore was 
lined with a mountain range, at the foot of which lay a strip of 
valley in which was the city of Yokohama with over three hun- 
dred thousand people and one of the chief seaports of the Orient. 

OUR FIRST STEP ASHORE — THE RIKSHAS. 

By eight o'clock a multitude of small boats has swarmed about 
the ship. We board one of them, marked Grand Hotel, and wav- 
ing reluctant adieus to our friends aboard, we take one last 
grateful look at the monster vessel that has borne us so safely 
across and are conveyed rapidly to shore. Here a great crowd, 
looking not unlike those seen at other ports, is assembled, while 
near the wharfs are lined up a long row of tiny vehicles looking 



Impressions of Japan. 43 

to us like large baby carriages. They are jinrikishas, popularly 
known as ''rikshas/' and almost the exclusive means of locomo- 
tion for those who do not walk. They are pulled by one man 
each and the rapidity and endurance of these man-horses is some- 
thing remarkable. It is said they can make over sixty miles a 
day. Their charges are twenty-five cents for the first hour and ten 
cents each hour thereafter; or they can be secured for an entire 
day for seventy cents. There are few trolley lines, and scarcely 
any buggies or carriages. The riksha man has it all to himself. 
By the way, the horses here are the scrubbiest of plugs. They 
would not sell for $25 apiece in Missouri. 

IN JAPAN. 

Japan comprises four thousand small and four large islands. 
The island of Nippon constitutes much the largest part. It is 
one thousand, one hundred miles long by eighty broad. 
Its climate extends from frigid to temperate, the country reach- 
ing from the thirtieth to the fortieth parallel of latitude, from 
the Northern to the Southern border of United States. Japan 
contains fifty millions of people, about half that of the United 
States, although not one-twentieth so large in area. It has sixty- 
four cities of over thirty thousand people, twenty-five of over 
fifty thousand and ten of over one hundred thousand. Its largest 
city is Tokio, which is the capital and has a population of nearly 
two millions. Its next largest is Osaka, its chief manufacturing 
city, with a million. The other large cities are Kioto, the former 
capital, with three hundred and eighty-one thousand; Nara, two 
hundred and eighty-nine thousand ; Yokohama, three hundred and 
twenty-six thousand ; Kobe, two hundred and eighty-live thousand 
and Nagasaki, one hundred and fifty-three thousand. The cities 



44 Around the World. 

of chief interest to visitors are Tokio, Kioto, Nara, Osaka and 
Yokohama. Much of the country is mountainous, and most of 
the population is in the cities. The nation is several thousand 
years old, and was closed to foreigners until 1853, when Com- 
modore Perry effected a treaty between it and our government. 
It has made great progress since that time. 

YOKOHAMA. 

The city of Yokohama has been more anglicized than any other 
city in the empire, and is hardly typically Japanese. However, 
the vast majority of its population is native. Having located our- 
selves at the Grand Hotel, our first impressions were favorable, 
for the Grand is a fine hostelry, and worthy to rank with the 
best American hotels. We were anxious to get out and see the 
city. So we took rikshas and away we went. We found the 
streets not over thirty feet wide, made of macadam, with narrow 
sidewalks of cobblestones, where there were any. Many streets 
have no sidewalks and are not over twenty feet in width. The 
buildings are distinctly inferior to those of American cities. I 
do not recall a single four-story building. The postoffice and 
banking houses are of fair proportions and are built of inferior 
brick and stone. Most of the business houses are one or two 
stories, and for the most part are small shops, in which the occu- 
pants are squatted tailor fashion. Here and there may be found 
fair sized stores of about the size of large business establishments 
in Missouri rural towns. The impression made by the city is 
that it is distinctly inferior to any American city of equal or much 
smaller size. Practically all the business buildings are covered 
with tiling, while many of the dwellings of the humbler or middle 
class are thatched, and roofed with a thick mass of earth and veg- 



Impressions of Japan. 45 

etation, the latter of which is green and growing upon the apex of 
the roof. 

PEOPLE ON THE STREETS. 

The streets swarm with people, chiefly Japanese of the lower 
class. There are, however, many Americans, and people of all 
other nationalities. All the women and a large majority of the 
men are bareheaded. For this reason the women have an unusual 
abundance of hair. They dress in characteristic Japanese style, 
a kimono of some bright material, fastened with a sash, called 
obi. Both men and women wear wooden sandals, which stand 
upon two transverse wooden cleats or stilts about two inches 
high. These sandals are held to the feet by leather thongs which 
pass between the great and next toe and are fastened to the 
wooden soles. How they keep them on their feet is a mystery. 
They keep up an everlasting clatter upon the streets and at the 
stations. There are no fat men or lean women. The 
men are sinewy without being lean and the women are 
plump without being fat. Practically every other woman has 
a baby strapped to her back. Surely there never was such a 
country for children as is this one. I thought when 1 visited 
Naples that I would never see its like for children. But Italy 
is not even a rival to Japan. You may see children from five 
years old to women eighty-five carrying babies as they go about 
their play or work. I saw one woman washing clothes with a 
baby on her back. A strange fact is that they never let the babies 
fall, and up to this date I have not heard a baby cry. The little 
creatures sleep soundly with the sun blazing down upon them as 
their nurses or mothers jostle them about in all sorts of rude 
ways. Evidently there is no danger of the population of Japan 



46 Around the World. 

running short. If Mr. Roosevelt wishes to see a country where 
his theories of reproduction are illustrated to the fullest he should 
visit Japan. He would find here his heaven. I have not observed 
an automobile in Japan. I asked an intelligent gentleman the 
reason for their absence. Very promptly and with the utmost sin- 
cerity he answered : "It would be impossible to run automobiles 
in Japan on account of the children." I am sure that there is no 
other country in the world where children are so thick that they 
stop the running of automobiles. Very appropriately the sacred 
bird of Japan is the stork. 



VI. 

FURTHER IMPRESSIONS OF JAPAN. 

NiKKO, Japan, November 14, 1907. 
The Japanese are a polite people. They are courteous, suave 
and bow more frequently and profusely than any other people. 
They are innately gentle and amiable. They will not say or do 
anything to wound feelings. The better class will not stare at you, 
nor will they smile at your mistakes. And that is more than can 
be said of Americans. They are also cleanly in their hom,es and 
in their persons. They are justly famed for neatness. They are 
quite healthy, due to the climate, their eating of rice and fish, and 
to the fact that they are industrious. They are thrifty. You 
rarely see a Japanese beggar, and it is astounding upon how little 
they can subsist. I was told by a president of a boy's boarding 
school that the cost of boarding at his institution was just three 
dollars a month. And the principal of a girls' school informed 
me that the cost of board and tuition at that institution was three 
dollars and seventy-five cents a month. The students are com- 
fortably provided for. Managers of boys' boarding clubs or 
female colleges may be startled at these statements, but I visited 
the different departments of both colleges and I feel sure the facts 
were correctly stated. 

WHAT THEY EAT. 

Naturally the next question is what do these people live on? 
Chiefly rice, supplemented by fish and vegetables. They eat but 
little if any meat, and no milk and butter. Up to date I have not 

(47; 



48 Around the World. 

seen a cow. Butter sells for 65 cents a pound and milk is rare, 
and is only used by the wealthy. The people eat no bread, and 
but few sweets. The vegetables are potatoes, tomatoes, rice, corn, 
beets, turnips, cabbage, onions, lettuce, carrots and radishes which 
are the largest I have ever seen, being as long as two feet. The 
fruits are oranges, apples, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, the 
finest persimmons I have ever seen, figs, pears, and gooseberries. 
Coffee, sugar and meat cost about as they do in America, but tea, 
of which great quanities are drunk, sells for one-half the Ameri- 
can price. Among the meats at hotels and in the better class of 
homes are chicken, pheasants, birds, duck, beef. If there are 
any hogs, cattle or sheep in Japan I have never seen them, and 
1 understand they are scarce. For which reason pork, beef and 
mutton are delicacies. The cooking and fare in hotels where we 
have stopped have been excellent, and indications are that Japa- 
nese women are fine housekeepers. They make ideal servants. 

THE JAPANESE HOME. 

The Japanese dwelling is something unique. There is no 
other home at all like it anywhere else in the world. It is 
scrupulously neat. It looks very much like a toy house. Outside 
it is not unlike the bungalow,, but inside the walls are simply 
sliding partitions of very thin rice paper in wooden framework. 
Conversation in one part of the house is heard all over. It is 
almost destitute of furniture. The floors are overspread with 
matting two or three inches thick, which yield under the feet. 
But no one is allowed to walk upon them with boots or shoes. 
Sandals or shoes are left at the doors and exchanged for socks 
or slippers. There are no chairs, tables or bedsteads. The bed- 
ding consists of cushions which are kept in closets and laid on 



Impressions of Japan. 49 

the floor for the inmates to sleep upon at night. There are no 
furnace or steam heated houses, except among the very wealthy 
classes, and there are rarely any stoves. The means of heat is 
an iron brazier about twelve inches in diameter and two feet 
high, which is filled with charcoal and is portable, being carried 
to different parts of the house. At these the people warm their 
hands. The remainder of their person either has to suffer or 
never gets cold. In southern Japan the mercury rarely sinks 
below 40 degrees. The better hotels have grates in which a 
good quality of coal is burned. They have no other means of 
heat. There is very little wood. What there is the horses or 
people carry on their backs. The Chinese have less fire in their 
houses than do the Japanese. They keep warm by wearing sev- 
eral suits of clothes. Fuel is very scarce in oriental countries. 

THE AMERICAN RESIDENTS. 

Residing in Yokohama are a large number of American and 
English families, nearly all of whom are prospering in their vari- 
ous vocations and are living on pleasant terms with the native 
population. They maintain the same method of living as in 
America. Some of them are quite wealthy and have splendid 
houses. Our party visited the residence of a Mr. Home, formerly 
of Georgia, who has amassed a large fortune in American ma- 
chinery and who resides in a home, which in all the appointments 
of splendid architecture and furnishings has few superiors in 
any land. It was our good fortune to be the guests at lunch 
("tiffin" they call it here), of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Bearing, of 
Yokohama. He and his wife are cultivated and delightful people. 
For thirteen years he has been conducting a theological semi- 
nary, which is now attended by twenty-two students for the min- 

4 



50 Around the World. 

istry, who he tells me manifest an aptitude for study and a mental 
and spiritual grasp not inferior to Americans. He has erected 
a fine building where the students board and a visit to it con- 
vinced me he was doing a great work. We also visited a female 
college founded by Miss Mary L. Colby, of the United States, 
and were deeply interested in the progress being made by the girls 
taught in the institution. Rev. and Mrs. W. B. Parsley and 
Miss Edith Wilcox, of the faculty, showed us through the various 
departments and it was almost incredible that an institution at- 
tended by one hundred students and with a faculty of thirteen 
members could be successfully conducted upon an income of 
$1,500 per year. 

EDUCATION. 

Japan is alive to the education of the people. It has 27,000 
public schools, well organized, in which are taught practically the 
same branches as in the United States and by competent teachers. 
It has 2,000 schools devoted to higher education. Among these 
are two large universities, attended by several thousand students 
each and well equipped. It expends fifteen millions of dollars a 
year on education. Larger children are uniformed according to 
grades and smaller children wear tags showing their names and 
ages. 

HEATHENISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 

While Christianity has not made the headway that is to be 
desired it is evident that heathenism is losing its hold upon a 
people so intelligent and progressive. We have visited the 
mammoth Daibutsu or statue of Buddha at Kamakura, near 
Yokohama. It is nearly 700 years old and is the greatest statue 
of the kind in Japan. It is 50 feet high by 35 feet wide, is of 



Impressions of Japan. 51 

bronze and represents Buddha in a sitting posture. It is a great 
work of art. We visited the greatest Shinto temple in Japan, 
located at Nikko and erected during the Shogun dynasty nearly 
three hundred years ago. Near by is a fine Buddhist temple. 
They are coarse, but brilliant products of barbaric genius. They 
are approached by hundreds of stone steps and located in the midst 
of a magnificent forest of cryptomeria trees over a hundred feet 
high and three hundred years old. I will not attempt to describe 
the temples, for space would not permit, but they are gorgeous in 
their architectural beauty. And yet they stand as monuments 
to the superstitious ignorance of a past age rather than as signi- 
ficant of any present vital religious condition. For instance there 
is a sacred horse which stands in one of the courts, only a plain 
horse, made sacred because he was given to the temple by a prince. 
He is fed by visitors, nearly all of whom laugh at the superstition 
of the simple minded creatures who worship him. Here also 
stands a lofty monument of bronze set on a stone pediment and 
erected three hundred years ago to avert evil spirits. There are 
other similar silly products of heathenism. But few intelligent 
worshippers are observed about these temples. Only the ignorant 
go through with the absurd mummeries, while the priests are 
using the whole for obtaining money from the people. It is plain 
that heathen worship is upon the wane and cannot stand before 
the onward march of an enlightened Christian civilization. 

AT NIKKO. 

The city of Nikko is claimed by the Japanese to be the most 
attractive spot in the empire. It is located in a mountainous 
region one hundred miles east of Tokio and the scenery is not 
superior to many mountain resorts in the United States. Eight 



52 Around the World. 

miles away at the top of the mountain is Lake Chuzenji, to which 
travelers are transported in chairs, borne by Japanese coolies, 
four to each chair. You can imagine the imposing spectacle our 
party presented as it was borne along by sixteen coolies attended 
by two guides. They carried us up this height of 2,000 feet 
without being wearied. The lake is a pleasant sheet of water 
resembling somewhat lakes in Switzerland. Besides the moun- 
tains and lakes are a long avenue between lofty trees, a sacred 
bridge, a rushing mountain stream and the heathen temples 
above described. 

THE EMPEROR AND CROWN PRINCE. 

But what we desire particularly to mention at risk of making 
this communication too long was what we saw en route to Nikko. 
Just as we were leaving Yokohama a Japanese fleet of eight 
battleships, two cruisers and twelve torpedo boats and destroyers, 
hove in sight. They were escorting the Crown Prince of Japan 
from Corea, where he had been upon a month's visit. The evi- 
dent purpose of the expedition had been to make an awe-inspiring 
impression upon that subjugated people who are manifesting 
some restlessness under Japanese domination. It was calculated 
to have that effect. It was certainly an imposing spectacle. 
Cannon were fired, flags unfurled and all Yokohama turned out 
to do honor to the prospective sovereign. Having to go by 
riksha to the station along the line of and in advance of the royal 
procession we had the opportunity of witnessing the enormous 
crowds which thronged the streets for miles. The public schools 
in uniform were in line and we had another opportunity to be 
confirmed in the opinion that Japan can outstrip all the remainder 
of the world in the matter of children. The boys were dressed 



Impressions of Japan. 53 

in uniform, each one an incipient soldier, and the girls sang 
patriotic songs as the Prince drove between them. It was an in- 
spiring sight and led one to feel that Japan was not only patriotic 
but a formidable proposition in war. 

Our train preceded that of the Prince to Tokio, the capital, 
an hour's run from Yokohama, and where the same kind of 
mammoth demonstration was repeated, except that it was bigger 
because Tokio is the larger city and also because at the hour of 
the Prince's arrival the Emperor was leaving to attend the army's 
maneuvers. So all Tokio was out. 

Then came an experience. I had to go to the American 
Embassy, while the ladies of our party were sent to another 
station where we were to take the train two hours later for 
Nikko. 1 transacted my business with Mr. O'Brien, the American 
Ambassador, who was very courteous, and hastened through the 
great throngs to join the remainder of the party. I found them 
at the station surrounded by a great crowd of Japanese who were 
standing about them with open mouths and eyes, in evident 
wonder and admiration, while the ladies were alternating be- 
tween laughter and anger. They shouted with joy upon my ar- 
rival. For once they were glad to see me. I perceived the situa- 
tion and explained to them that as the Emperor and Prince did 
not have their wives and daughters with them the crowd, thinking 
the latter were belated, had mistaken them for the royal family, 
supposing one of them to be the empress, another the crown prin- 
cess and another the princess. Whether they believed me or not 
the effect was to quiet them, and to maintain them in a calm and 
quiet state afterward, with the exception that occasionally there 
was a contention between the girls as to which was the crown 
princess and which the princess. 



VII. 

THE JAPANESE AND THEIR WAYS. 

NiKKO, Japan, November i6, 1907. 
The Japanese have a proverb that you do not know the mean- 
ing of magnificent until you shall have seen Nikko. Hence we 
tarried several days beneath the mountain shades and within the 
sound of the mountain torrents of this beautiful region whence 
starts the great Kaida road which runs twenty-five hundred miles 
through Japan, and which embowered by colossal trees is a thing 
of joy and beauty. Here, also, are the finest temples in Japan. 
Heathen as they are, they are an interesting study both for their 
architecture and as illustrating heathenism in its deepest type. 
This is one point where Christianity seems to have made but little 
progress. I attended a service in a little Episcopal church here. 
There were just eight persons present besides the rector, and all 
were tourists. It is the only Protestant church here. The com- 
munity seems to be bound by the shackles of heathenism and yet 
we are persuaded that it will not be long before Christianity will 
assert supremacy even here. 

THE RAILROADS AND WHAT IS SEEN EN ROUTE. 

There are 4,000 miles of railway in the empire. Japan has 
adopted municipal ownership. The government has bought many 
of the railroads, the telephone and telegraph and other public util- 
ities. It has gone into the tobacco and several other branches of 
business on its own account, but the experiment which is of 
recent adoption, is not proving altogether successful. The gov- 
ernment has a way of taking possession of any business when it 
is not conducted to public satisfaction. The trains do not run as 
rapidly as in Europe or America. The cars are of the carriage 

(■oi) 



The Japanese and Their Ways. 55 

kind as in Europe, being entered from the side instead from the 
ends as in America, and there being first, second and third classes. 
The rates are about two cents a mile for first class, one cent for 
second class and three-fourths of a cent for third class. In our 
trip from Tokio to Nikko, a distance of loo miles, consuming 
five hours, there was in the same car with us a number of Japa- 
nese military officers en route to attend the maneuvers. They 
were courteous and had all the bearing of gentlemen of the 
higher order. There is as much difference between the higher 
and lower classes as in our country, between whites and blacks. 
When they left the train a number of citizen Japanese entered 
the car. They wore plug hats, and all but one, Prince Albert 
coats. They had been at the station to meet the Emperor, whose 
train was the one ahead of ours. One of the gentlemen was 
attired in a full dress suit and silk hat. Think of that happening 
at midday in America. After he sat down he called for a bowl 
of rice and eels. By the way, eels are one of the delicacies here. 
Then he proceeded to devour the food with chop sticks, and 
to drink a pot of tea. Everybody drinks tea and at all hours of 
day or night. The handling of chopsticks in eating and keeping 
on sandals in walking are two things Japanese do at which all 
Americans constantly wonder. To eat rice with two sticks not 
much larger than lead pencils and to hold wooden boards resting 
upon cleats, by strings tied to the toes are feats, possible only to 
Japanese and Chinese. 

KINDLINESS TO AMERICANS. 

If there is any unfriendly feeling towards Americans it is 
not upon the surface. On the contrary our countrymen are not 
only shown deference, but marked preference. There appears 
to be every disposition to cultivate friendly relations with Amer- 
ica. The Japanese exclusion problem is candidly discussed, and 



56 Around the World. 

while there would be a loud and just proiest against exclusion 
of the better class of Japanese, who go to America to engage 
in the higher branches of trade or to acquire education it is not 
probable that objection would be made to prohibitory laws against 
too strong influx of the coolie class. I have had long interviews 
with Consul-General Miller and our Ambassador, Mr. O'Brien. 
Neither express any apprehension of trouble between the coun- 
tries, but they are free to say that it would be unwise in the 
United States to adopt radical exclusion laws or for newspapers 
and public men to indulge in intemperate criticisms of the Jap- 
anese. They believe that all differences may be easily adjusted. 
I have been impressed with the ability and good sense of our 
diplomatic representatives in Japan, and believe they will act 
with wisdom in all international affairs. 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

Traveling through the country opportunity is afforded to study 
agricultural conditions. Like Europe this is a garden truck 
country. They grow wheat and corn and like products, but in 
a limited way. There are few large farms or fields as in Amer- 
ica. Both women and men work in the fields, and hay is carried 
on the backs of horses or of the people. There are carts, but 
no large wagons as we have them. There are few farm houses, 
and they are small. The people live in the towns and go out in 
the country to work in the day time, when the towns present 
a deserted appearance. At nights the towns are full of life. The 
most beautiful tree is the cryptomeria. It looks like a pine, but 
grows to a great height, from loo to 200 feet. Besides there 
are maple, oak, cherry, pine and other trees, but they are differ- 
ent from trees of that name with us. The sacred tree is the 



The Japanese and Their Ways. 57 

Ghinko, of broad and luxuriant foliage. The forests are limited 
and scrubby. In flowers the chrysanthemum leads. This is the 
chrysanthemum season and the shops and houses are full of the 
flower. There are also the azalea, the wistaria, the peony, the 
iris, hibiscus, cherry, and lotus, which is the national flower. 

MORAL CONDITIONS. 

The saloon is unknown. While some beer is drunk, whiskey 
is hardly known among the natives, who indulge in a drink called 
Sake, made from fermented rice mixed with alcohol. It is drunk 
hot and tastes like cherry. It cannot be as intoxicating as our 
American liquor, for of the hundreds of thousands of people I 
have seen I have yet to observe a drunken man. It is said to 
stupefy, but not intoxicate. Social conditions are said not to 
be as pure as they should be. Nor are they anywhere. There 
is no outward appearance of any lower social morals than else- 
where. So far as honor in trade is concerned I have had no one 
to try to cheat me. 

NO PROFANE WORD IN LANGUAGE. 

The Japanese have no word in their vocabulary which blas- 
phemes the name of their or any other deity. It is a language 
without profanity. This accounts, no doubt in a large degree 
for their refined and polite natures, for their considerate regard 
for others. And this is why so many Americans are rude and 
brutal. The tongue defiles the whole body, and it is a shame to 
Christianity that the nations which claim to be Christian are 
the only nations whose people desecrate and blaspheme the name 
of the God they worship. We may learn from heathens. 



o8 Around the World. 

AS TO MARRIAGES. 

The marriage compact is easy and simple. There is no religious 
or magisterial ceremony except when requested. The expectant 
bride and bridegroom file with the proper officer an application 
to marry, giving the age, residence and occupation of themselves 
and parents, and so they are married. That is all of it. Mar- 
riage is looked upon purely as a contract, which when registered 
becomes legally binding. The contract can only be dissolved by 
divorce proceedings. By the way, the judicial procedure here is 
said to be something wonderful. One novelty is that a man is 
made a judge before he becomes a lawyer. In America it is 
reversed. The highest ambition of every lawyer there is to be a 
judge. Speaking again of marriage, it is proper to say that the 
Japanese pay deference to women, more than do most of the 
orientals, and there is something winning about the Japanese 
women, as the}' go mincing along in their little kimonos. They 
are all ruddy-faced, earnest, little busy-bodies. 

LABORERS. 

The country is overrun with the laboring class. Consequently 
wages are low. An average day's wages is fifty cents. Many 
receive less than half that amount. A skilled mechanic will earn 
seventy cents. The foreman of one of the principal daily papers 
in Yokohama receives five dollars per week and the printers 
from two to three dollars. There are no type-setting machines. 
There need not be at those prices. Clerks are also poorly paid 
and Christian preachers, of whom there are many, receive from 
$20 to $30 per month. There are no labor unions, and the labor 
question has not entered politics. 



The Japanese and Their Ways. 59 

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS. 

Notwithstanding- the great loss of money and life incurred by 
the Russian war, Japan is enjoying prosperity. While carrying a 
heavy war debt of three hundred millions, her bonds float at a pre- 
mium and there is abundance of money in her banks. The peo- 
ple manifest an optimism, born no doubt of their success in war 
and there seems to be a general good feeling, Education- 
ally, financially, socially, religiously the face of Japan is towards 
the rising sun and it can no longer be denied that she is one of 
the great powers of the world. 

THE GOVERNMENT. 

For several years the government has had a constitution which 
hmits the powers of the Emperor. There is an Imperial Diet or 
congress composed of 300 members of the House of Peers and 
369 of the House of Representatives, who frame the laws subject 
to royal approval. The peers hold office for seven years and the 
representatives for four. Both are elected by the people. There 
are two parties, called Liberal and Progressive. The empire is 
divided into states, counties and towns, with governors and rep- 
Tesentatives and mayors and councils similar in many respects to 
ours. It is gradually approaching the republican form. Educa- 
tion is leavening society, and is evidently at the basis of the com- 
mercial, political and religious regeneration of Japan, and has 
already wrought wonders in that direction. Nearly all of the 
higher classes are educated., most of them in the United States, 
and this culture is extending to the lower classes, although there 
is yet a vast amount of ignorance. Before the light of this intel- 
ligence must flee, is now fleeing the mists of superstitious heathen- 



60 Around the World. 

ism and ignorance which have so long enthralled this people, and 
there will be admitted, is being admitted that Christianity which 
for two thousand years has been liberating the minds and con- 
sciences of men. 



VIII. 

THE JAPANESE ARMY, EMPEROR'S RECEPTION, JAPANESE 
THEATRE AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS— UNIVERSITIES— 
THE CITY OF TOKIO. 

ToKio, Japan, November 21, 1907. 
We witnessed a sham battle of the eastern division of the Jap- 
anese army, near Shemodate, a point midway between Nikko 
and Tokio. Some forty thousand troops were engaged in the 
battle, which was the culmination of several days' maneuvers, 
and was interesting and exciting to a high degree. Artillery, 
infantry and cavalry and a war balloon, all took part and the bat- 
tle was conducted in pursuance of the most scientific methods and 
under the direction of Japan's greatest generals. The Emperor 
was present in person. I had the pleasure of seeing him at near 
range and of studying him closely. He impressed me as a man of 
ability who had a serious sense of the great responsibility 
resting upon him. An enormous throng was present, and the 
reverence and adulation shown him was almost pathetic. The 
family to which he belongs has been in authority for twenty-five 
hundred years, and notwithstanding numerous changes in the 
form of government his title to the throne has never been ques- 
tioned. Millions believe that he holds it by divine right. Many 
believe he is divine. I feel confident that had Deity been passing 
along He would not have been regarded with more profound 
reverence than hundreds of thousands manifested towards him on 

(61) 



62 Around the World. 

that day. Every one is expected to bare his head not only when 
the Emperor passes by, but whenever his portrait is in sight, and 
the people take mortal offense if this homage is not paid him. 

People are not permitted to look down upon him from windows 
as he is driven along the street. All must be below him, and it is 
even said that a subject who is taller than his majesty 
must get upon his knees so that all his subjects shall ever be be- 
neath and none above him. Children are taught from infancy that 
it is the highest of all privileges and duties to die for their Em- 
peror. And those who thus die are never mourned. No wonder 
a people so trained are intensely patriotic and are so invincible in 
war. This abject homage to their ruler, this awe of him as though 
he were supernatural, has the effect to keep millions content with 
their poverty and make them submissive under all conditions. 

The army is well equipped and organized, and made a fine ap- 
pearance. I saw Generals Oyama, Nogi, Admiral Togo and 
other military men who became famous during the war with Rus- 
sia. Japan has a standing army of 163,000 men. Our party were 
the only Americans present in all this vast multitude, the maneu- 
vers having been purposely kept as secret as possible from for- 
eigners. But we were kindly treated, too kindly. The ladies to 
their great annoyance were constantly the center of wondering and 
admiring crowds. They have come to the conclusion that being 
the royal family is not half as desirable as being plain, independ- 
ent American women. 

THE emperor's RECEPTION. 

Upon our arrival in Tokio we found awaiting us the following 
invitation : 

"The minister of the Imperial household invites (naming our 



Japanese Customs. 63 

party) to the chrysanthemum reception which will be held at 
Akasaka detached palace at 2 o'clock, November 19. By order of 
the Emperor and Empress." 

As this is the only general reception given by the Emperor and 
Empress during the year we regarded ourselves fortunate, and 
we promptly accepted and attended. The reception was held in 
a pagoda in a large park in Tokio. We reached the place by a 
winding walk through a dense grove of trees, passing several 
beautiful lakes. There were assembled over a thousand persons, 
including many prominent Japanese and foreigners of all nation- 
alities. Surrounding the open quadrangle in which they were 
gathered were parterres of chrysanthemums. Very soon an 
avenue was made through the throng and the royal family ap- 
peared and marching to the pagoda formally received the guests. 
All men present wore high hats and Prince Albert suits and the 
ladies were dressed in their finest apparel. There was but one spec- 
ification as to dress, and that was that no one must appear in 
mourning. The military officers were arrayed in uniform, and 
we were disappointed that none of the Japanese men or women 
were dressed in the picturesque kimono costume of the realm. 
The higher classes have discarded the traditional garb of Japan 
and are endeavoring to dress as much like Europeans and Ameri- 
cans as possible. This is at the distinct loss of attractiveness. 
The women do not look nearly so well as in their native apparel, 
and the men present much the appearance that Indians do who 
have abandoned the beautiful costumes of their race and have 
donned ordinary store clothes. The Japanese men on this oc- 
casion wore Prince Albert suits that did not fit them, and which 
together with their hats, looked like shabby-genteel hand-me- 
downs. There was no sort of comparison between the Japanese 



64 Around the World. 

and the Americans and Europeans, and as between the latter it 
must be said that the Americans were much the better dressed, 
were more at ease and were less snobbish and artificial. One feels 
better satisfied with Americans the more he sees them in compari- 
son with others. After all had seated themselves at small tables 
upon the lawn refreshments were served, consisting of salad, raw 
fish, tongue, shrimp, sandwiches, charlotte russe, patties and ice 
cream, champagne and claret wines. There was a lack of dig- 
nity about the serving of the lunch. There was a long table to 
which there was an indiscriminate scramble. Two years ago I at- 
tended a reception of the King of Belgium where the same stam- 
pede of the guests to the lunch table took place. I have concluded 
that the ceremony and dignity which do hedge a king are not dif- 
ferent from those which characterize ordinary people. 

A JAPANESE THEATER. 

We attended a Japanese theater. It was a novel affair. The 
auditorium was similar in form to American theaters, consisting 
of parquet, dress-circle, balcony and galler}^ and was semi-circu- 
lar. The architecture was much plainer. There were no chairs. 
The floor space was divided into little pens about four by six feet, 
each capable of holding four persons, and the entire audience 
sat upon the floor, which, was covered by a thick, soft matting. 
Two passage ways about three feet wide extended from the stage 
along the railing between the dress circle and the parquet to the 
rear of the auditorium. These passage ways were on a level with 
the stage, and the actors made their entrances and exits upon 
them. It seemed odd to hear them begin their parts near the cen- 
ter of the auditorium as they approached the stage and end them 
at the same point as they made their exits. 




JAPANESE irOMAN—RIKSHAS AND TEMPLES 



Japanese Customs. 65 

The stage was a revolving affair, and scenes would change 
while the actors were yet before the audience, by the scenery being 
turned around like a railroad engine upon a turn-table. The scen- 
ery itself was crude and Japanese. The acts were very long, and 
consisted of conversations of wearisome duration. 

The play was deeply tragic. A man while hunting at midnight 
in aiming to shoot a wild hog thought he had killed his father. 
He stumbled in the darkness on the dead body of a man who had 
his father's money purse in his pocket. It being dark the hunter 
could not see the body and did not know whose pocket-book it 
was until he got to the light. The facts were that the dead man 
had killed his father and somebody else had afterwards killed 
the man. But the hunter thought he had done so, as did his 
mother and everybody else. Remorse seized him and he was the 
victim of great persecution. His wife was taken from him and 
his mother railed on him. Finally after an awful amount of 
trouble he killed himself in a most realistic manner, plunging his 
sword through his body, his blood enveloping and drenching 
his person in a truly horrible way. 

An amusing feature of the performance was the presence of at- 
tendants, or "supes" upon the stage, arranging scenery, and the 
clothing of the actors during the performance. One of them 
stepped up behind the actor and supplied him with blood while he 
was apparently plunging a sword through his person, and ar- 
ranged his hair in a disheveled state while he was dying. The 
voice of the actor was deep-toned and weird and tragic in the ex- 
treme, and moved the audience deeply, many reveling in tears 
during a large part of the performance. 

We did not wait to see the play through. The performance 
begins at two o'clock and continues until eleven, and it is difficult 
5 



66 Around the World. 

to trace any connection between the acts. The actors evince dra- 
matic talent, and there is not the suggestion of anything improper 
in dress, gesture or word. Between acts tea and cakes are served, 
and while there is considerable smoking, no beer or whiskey is 
drunk. The musicians, who keep up a constant thwanging of 
some sort of stringed instruments are partially concealed behind 
lattice work on one side of the stage, while upon the other side is 
a prompter, who joins with the music in certain weird and mourn- 
ful sounds to deepen the tragic effect of the performance. 

Morally the Japanese theater is a decided improvement upon 
some that are American. 

A JAPANESE LUNCH. 

Naturally all visitors to Japan desire an insight into the social 
life of the people. To this end there are provided functions at 
the leading restaurants or clubs, where opportunity is afforded to 
see just how the people of the better class entertain guests 
in their homes. We attended one of these functions. It costs 
considerable, but it is worth while. The luncheon or dinner was 
in the evening in a room fifteen feet square in which there was no 
furniture. Having first been required to remove our shoes and 
put on slippers we were shown to the room and given cushions 
and seated upon the floor. There were no chairs or table. The 
floor was covered with a thick matting, soft and pliable, and arm 
rests were provided upon which to recline. The dinner consisted 
of some six or seven courses, in which soup, mushrooms, chicken, 
fish, shrimp, rice, cooked oranges, pickles, apples and chestnuts 
were the constituents. There was no bread, milk, butter, coffee 
or dessert, but an abundance of tea and sake for those who desired 
them. The food was partaken of with chopsticks, two pine sticks 



Japanese Customs. 67 

about twelve inches long and of about the diameter of lead pen- 
cils. The Japanese do not use knives and forks. We had some 
trouble handling the food with chopsticks, but managed to get 
through satisfactorily. During the meal we were entertained by 
songs and poses by six Geisha girls modestly arrayed in brilliant 
Japanese costumes. It was what would be called a Delsarte per- 
formance in America and is a popular method of social enter- 
tainment. The girls were quite pretty and graceful and the func- 
tion was as charming as it was novel. 

TOKIO. 

In addition to being the capital Tokio is the largest city in 
Japan. It contains over two millions of people and extends over 
one hundred miles square. It has some wide streets, upon which 
there are stone sidewalks. But most of the streets are from 
twenty to thirty feet wide and without sidewalks, the people 
wialking out in the middle of the streets. Most of the houses are 
one-story and the business establishments are chiefly small shops. 
There are few large stores, but the quality of goods is not equal 
to those in Yokohama. The Imperial palace and government 
buildings are large and handsome, and there are some fine resi- 
dences. There is an efficient system of electric railways, but the 
rikshas are much in evidence. 

It is said to be the greatest school city in the world. This claim 
it is easy to believe. The streets literally swarm with students of 
both ages and sexes. The Imperial University has an attendance 
of five thousand students and an annual income of a million dol- 
lars. There are two hundred professors and departments of liter- 
ature, engineering, law, medicine and pedagogics. It is supported 
by direct appropriations from the Imperial Diet and has but little 
if anv endowment. 



68 Around the World. 

The Waseda University, founded by Count Okuma, one of the 
three greatest men of Japan, Prince Ito and Count Kanoko being 
the other two, has six thousand students and two hundred pro- 
fessors, but has no science department. Its purpose is literary and 
political, and it is distinctly Japanese. 

There are many private colleges, supported by Methodist, Bap- 
tist, Presbyterian, Congregational, Catholic, and Episcopalian 
churches, and the English language as well as Christian principles 
are widely taught. I visited a college for boys taught by Prof, 
and Mrs. E. W. Clement, and one for girls by Misses Kidder and 
Whitman, which are well conducted. They are both Baptist in- 
stitutions. 

Most of the students wear military uniform. There is no other 
city in the world where there is to be seen as much military cloth- 
ing. All boys are required to take a certain amount of military 
training. The whole nation is thus a vast incipient reserve army, 
and the patriotism of the people is unbounded. It looks very 
much like Japan were getting ready to become an enormous war 
power, and it is plain that she would be a dangerous enemy to 
contend with. 

The country is aflame upon the subject of education, which is 
compulsory and is being conducted along high lines. When it is 
remembered that her universities are not over tw^enty-five years 
old and that within that period her entire educational system has 
been constructed, it will be seen that the foundation of intelli- 
gence has but just been laid upon which Japan will surely erect a 
permanent fabric of national greatness. 



IX. 
ART AND OTHER THINGS JAPANESE. 

Kioto, Japan_, November 29, 1907. 
The Japanese are born artists. The art instinct manifests it- 
self in childhood. Give a Japanese child a number of flowers or 
ribbons, or fans, or any articles of different colors, and he will in- 
stinctively arrange them in harmonious and attractive combina- 
tion. Hence you will not wonder that Japanese art shops and 
studios are attractive to tourists. There can be no denying but 
that in production of art, whether in dress or furniture, or pic- 
tures, or bric-a-brac, or tableware or jewelry, or ornaments of all 
kinds the Japanese are unique and original to a marked degree. 
The picturesqueness of the natural scenery has left its impress 
upon the people and is reflected in the dress both of men and 
women, which is the most artistic in the world. It seems a shame 
that the beautiful and vari-colored kimonos should be yielding to 
the commercial spirit of the age and the world-wide tendency to 
imitate everything x\merican, and that in place of them the people 
are donning the plain and unartistic English clothes so illy adapted 
to them. The homes are artistic also, but are entirely different 
from American homes. They reverse the American methods. 
They have no front yards and the fronts of their houses are often 
forbidding, while they ornament the rear, and have large gar- 
dens or lawns in that part, where are flowers or stunted trees, with 
little lakes and artistic bridges. Many of the humblest Japanese 
homes will have these artistic back yards or gardens wherein the 
families live and entertain their guests, while the front will be 
upon a dirty street, and be plain and uninviting. Many of them 
have kitchens in front and parlors in the rear. The Japanese have 

(69) 



70 Around the World. 

a way of doing things opposite from the American way. They 
write their surnames first. The books begin where ours end and 
end where ours begin. The story begins on the last page and ends 
on the first. They mount a horse from the right side and when 
they meet you in the highway turn to the left instead of the right. 
They shake their own hands and not yours in salutation, but bow 
low and repeatedly. 

ART WORK. 

Their embroideries are beautiful and artistic and evince exquis- 
ite taste and most patient industry. I write this letter in a bed- 
room where the silk quilts are wonders of artistic skill and beauty. 
This is true of the kimonos and dresses and of every fabric where- 
in it is possible to display skill with the needle. In wood carving 
they are no less deft and original. Some of the furniture seen in 
the homes and in the hotels are prodigal in their elaborateness of 
handiwork and beautiful in design. Such work is only possible 
where people possess infinite patience and a painstaking fidelity to 
a single object which will lead a man or woman to spend half a 
lifetime carving one piece of furniture. The restless and am- 
bitious American could not be induced to do this plodding work 
of hand. He would find some, way of doing it not half so well 
by machinery or would grow tired and go at something that would 
pay better. It is only possible also where labor is very cheap. 
Artists who could do such work would command in America from 
five to ten dollars a day. Here they are content with fifty cents. 
If they get as much as seventy-five cents it is regarded very high. 

I visited in Tokio the Government Printing Office where are 
employed 3,500 skilled workman. I saw at least a thousand girls 
in the Bureau of Engraving where is printed the government 
money of both China and Japan. It is responsible work and re- 



Art and Other Things Japanese. 71 

quires special skill. The girls get from fifteen to twenty-two cents 
a day and the men about seventy cents. There was a strike of the 
wireworkers not long since. They were receiving from five to 
thirty cents a day. They compromised by accepting an increase 
of two and a half cents. Labor is organized in what they call 
guilds, but it has not accomplished much for the laborers. I met a 
lady who complained that the guilds had raised the price of her 
cook to a dollar and a half a week and her housemaid to a dollar. 
The servants board themselves. 

DAMACENE^ CLOISONNE AND SATSUMA. 

The most famous works in art by the Japanese are those 
wrought on steel, called Damacene, on copper, called Cloisonne, 
and on porcelain, called Satsuma. All three are industries re- 
quiring high artistic talent, painstaking and patience. In Dama- 
cene four processes are necessary, in Cloisonne twelve and in 
Satsuma seven, or more, and to finish some of the articles requires 
months. The genius of the artist and the patience and skill of the 
workman are evident upon every work produced and it is difficult 
to understand how articles involving so much labor can be pro- 
duced at so low figures. However there is no especial advantage 
in purchasing here, as the Republican tariff makes them so high 
when they reach America that purchases can be made as reasona- 
bly in America where all Japanese art factories have agencies. It 
is interesting to visit the shops and witness the process of manu- 
facture, how one artist draws the design upon a card case, or a 
vase, or an urn, another lays upon it the gold wire, another ham- 
mers in the gold leaf, another adds the coloring, another does the 
firing, another applies from twenty to twenty-five coats of lacquer 
iinish and another does the polishing, until the completed product 
is a thing: of beautv. 



72 Around the World. 

FROM YOKOHAMA TO KIOTO. 

After spending two weeks in central Japan visiting Yokohama. 
Tokio and Nikko we took the train for the western portion and 
had our first opportunity for a view of the most picturesque, pro- 
ductive, and interesting part of the country. We had left the 
partially Americanized section and for the first time saw only 
that which was strictly and deeply Japanese. The railroad lay 
through fertile valleys for over two hundred miles. On one side 
was a hazy and noble mountain range. Upon the other was the 
placid ocean, or rather an inlet of the ocean, alive with the flut- 
tering sails of numberless fishing schooners, with an occasional 
ocean steamer. The valleys resembled checker boards of green, 
or yellow or black, as they perchance were dotted with the grow- 
ing tea or barley or ordinary vegetable or with ripened rice, or 
the black soil just prepared for or not yet having yielded its in- 
crease. 

It looked like thousands of miniature or toy gardens, and they 
were not confined to the valleys, but stretched up the mountains, 
terrace upon terrace, or lay like crazy quilts upon the mountain 
side. The whole was a scene of busy activity. Thousands of 
workers, men and women, swarmed upon them. Some of the men 
were bare from the waist, and others were arrayed only in a 
loin cloth, but most had on blouses and tight trousers, but were 
bare-headed and bare-foot. The work is almost entirely by hand. 
We did not see a half dozen horses upon the trip. The double 
shovel plow is the only piece of farm machinery we have yet seen. 
I asked a gentleman who has grown rich in Japan selling machin- 
ery if there were any labor-saving farm machines in the country. 
He said that they were only to be found in one small section. One 



Art and Other Things Japanese. 73 

reason is the farms are too small. Land sells not by the acre but 
by the six feet square. An acre is a fair sized farm. Therefore 
when a man plowed out to the end of his farm he either had to 
run his horse a large part of the way across his neighbor's farm 
and incur a suit for damages or trespass, or leave the borders of 
his own land uncultivated. Then there are so many people and 
labor is so cheap that there is no need for horses or machinery. 

Implements and methods are the crudest. The people are poor 
but thrifty, and there are no beggars and we have seen but two 
criminals. They were chained together and being taken to prison. 
They wore rude straw hats, looking like inverted milk buckets, 
almost entirely concealing their faces, pink yellow kimonos which 
came to their knees and tight, white trousers. They drew their 
hats down over their faces, as though anxious to conceal them- 
selves from the gaze of others. Apparently there is but little 
crime. 

MYANOSHITA AND LAKE HAKONE. 

A spot in Japan which all tourists are expected to visit is Mya- 
noshita, an attractive mountain resort about sixty miles west of 
Yokohama, There is a fine hotel there, located probably a thou- 
sand feet above the railroad station. Tourists are conveyed to it 
in rikshas. A foaming river dashes along beneath it, while from 
above is the constant splashing of waterfalls. Mountain peaks 
rise to lofty heights upon all sides. The spot is a picturesque one. 
We made a trip from it to Lake Hakone, six miles distant, but 
two thousand feet higher. The gentlemen rode on horses, but the 
ladies were carried in Sedan chairs. The chairs rested upon two 
bamboo poles and were carried by four men each. The endurance 
and strength of these Japanese coolies who can carry people up 



74 Around the World. 

these precipitous places is something remarkable. I undertook to 
walk up a considerable altitude, but was compelled in sheer ex- 
haustion to give it up, when I got in a chair, and to my humilia- 
tion I was borne up the remainder of the distance with ease. 
Those who are familiar with the avoirdupois of the writer will 
recognize the strenuosity of this remarkable feat. 

Lake Hakone is a beautiful sheet of water. We had a sail 
across it, and in doing so enjoyed our first good view of Fuji, 
Japan's highest mountain, whose snow-capped summit, as I once 
before wrote, adorns most of her works of art. It was a beautiful 
spectacle. By the way the three objects distinctly Japanese and 
which her artists most exploit are Mount Fuji, the thatch-cov- 
ered home, and the kimono dress. 

Near lake Hakone is a region filled with geysers not unlike 
our Yellowstone Park. 

SOME JAPANESE PECULIARITIES. 

As in continental Europe and all oriental countries the 
people dwell chiefly in the towns, from which they go out into the 
country to work. The towns consist of a few long streets along 
which are low thatch-covered houses, in which are little shops, 
no large stores. There are no sidewalks. In the day time they 
are practically deserted. At night they swarm with people. Yet 
strange to sa}- there are practically no night amusements, no 
theaters or concerts or entertainments of any kind. Artists as 
the Japanese are in other respects they seem to be destitute of 
musical talent, either vocal or instrumental. The stillness of a 
Japanese city at night is marked. There is an absence of saloons 
or drinking places, or revelry. To this date, of the millions I 
have been among I have not seen a drunken man or witnessed a 



Ai-t and Other Things Japanese. 75 

'Street brawl. The people are quiet and orderly. To the discredit 
and shame of Americans there are being- introduced by the latter 
breweries and beer-drinking it is said is getting to be quite a 
habit in some localities. The only whiskey drinking I have seen 
here has been among foreigners, who indulge in it to more ex- 
cess than at home. 

The Japanese are very rigid in their laws against opium-sell- 
ing. They impose the heaviest penalties for it, and will punish 
an offender much more heavily for selling opium than for steal- 
ing. They are determined that this great curse to China shall 
not come to them. It was the English who introduced opium 
into China. To our dishonor be it said that it looks as though 
Englishmen and Americans are endeavoring to bring to Japan in 
the whiskey and beer traffic an evil as great as that which was 
inflicted upon China in opium. The faithful Christian mission- 
aries are doing all they can to stay the tide. But they are few 
and feebly supported. Unless the Christian people of other lands 
wake up to a sense of the situation there is danger of Christian 
missions receiving a worse blow from their own countrymen 
than from the opposition of heathenish superstition. For the 
evils of intemperance in these heathen lands are not confined to 
its victims. When intelligent Japanese or Chinese observe people 
from nations claiming to be civilized and Christian introducing 
such a baneful curse, worse than anything even heathenism has 
known, they refuse to believe that the religion such nations bring 
toi them Is anv better, or even as good as their own. 



X. 
NUMEROUS FACTS OF INTEREST ABOUT JAPAN. 

Kioto, Japan, November 30, 1907. 
When we reached Japan we wondered why there were so many 
one-story houses, and so few of greater height. We have had it 
explained by a heavy earthquake, which rocked the huge hotel 
in which we were stopping as though it were a cradle. The shock 
came about two o'clock in the morning and lasted for over two 
minutes. But it brought the guests from their beds in a most 
precipitous manner. Residents did not take much notice of it, 
and there was but slight comment concerning it in the papers. 
Earthquakes are frequent, although this one is said to have been 
the heaviest for some time. Those who keep scientific record de- 
clare there is an average of thirteen hundred a year or nearly 
four a day. But if so they are not perceptible. There has been 
but one that was destructive. That was at Yeddo in 1871 when 
10,000 people were killed and 130,000 houses were destroyed. 
This is one reason why houses are low and built chiefly of wood. 
Another reason is the constant danger of fire growing out of 
the peculiar method of heating houses by a basin filled with 
charcoal which is taken from room to room and often handled 
carelessly. Another danger is from the paper lanterns and coal 
oil lamps used in lighting houses. As a warning to the people 
to be careful about fires policemen thump the streets with their 
canes at stated hours of the night greatly to the annoyance of 
guests who are thus awakened from slumber; of course another 
reason for small houses is because the people are poor and their 
business is limited. Very few Japanese, however wealthy, have 
large homes. 

(76) 



Facts of Interest About Japan. 77 

THE JAPANESE HOUSE 

is a constant source of interest. I wondered at the paper par- 
titions between the rooms. I discovered that they are so con- 
structed that they can be thrown into one room, and that these 
partitions are sliding, making it possible when occasion requires 
to cut them up into numerous rooms. Thus there may be a 
large room in which the family can live in the day time, while 
they can divide the house into numerous sleeping apartments at 
night. It may seem absurd, but it is said to be true that many 
houses of the poorer class are so small and light that they can be 
folded up and carried away upon the shoulders of the owner, 
while the contents are so light that they can be loaded upon the 
owner's wife. The spectacle of a man carrying his house, and 
his wife the household and kitchen furniture is one that is said 
not to be uncommon in Japan, but which can be seen nowhere 
else in the world. 

I have, heretofore, mentioned the fact that the houses are void 
of tables or chairs or bedsteads, or any furniture, even of a 
cooking stove. This makes housekeeping a somewhat less for- 
midable undertaking than in America. It is said that a fair-sized 
cottage can be furnished for ten dollars, while some furnishings 
cost as low as two dollars and a half. I mention these facts for 
the benefit of struggling young couples, who may solve the house- 
keeping problem by removing to Japan. Think of a young 
American wedded pair furnishing a house on ten dollars, and 
then picking up their house and household effects and trudging 
off to deposit them in some other part of the town. 

HOME LIFE. 

Filial love is a marked quality of every Japanese boy and girl. 
Every boy is taught from infancy two supreme duties, the love 



78 Around the World. 

of his father and of his Emperor. And he will gladly die for 
either. In fact ancestral worship is a part of Japanese religion, 
while patriotism is equally as sacred. The girl also has the same 
love of parents as the boy, but her position is a more servile one. 
The only opportunity for a woman to reach a position of au- 
thority in Japan is to become a mother-in-law. It is said that 
there is no possession she enjoys so much as having a daughter- 
in-law, for having faithfully served her husband and her children 
she has a taste of the sweet use of power by ruling her daughter- 
in-law, which she does with a rod of iron. 

In the household both boys and girls are taught from infancy 
implicit obedience to parents, and it is to this discipline drilled 
into them from the beginning that Japanese owe the fact that 
they are such admirable soldiers. Babies from the time they caa 
understand are taught self-control, and a crying baby is almost 
unknown. At the same early period they are taught all the rules 
of etiquette, and in the family circle there is such uniform cour- 
tesy and deference that these qualities become a second nature to 
the children in after life. They are taught how to bow and to 
enter a room and to serve tea, in fact all the graces of social 
life until they become the politest people in the world. 

The dress of boys and girls is the same until they are seven 
years of age, being an outer and inner kimono. At that age the 
boy doffs his inner kimono and substitutes trousers while the girl 
adopts instead of her narrow sash or obi, a wide one. 

The girl's dress is a symphony of brilliant colors, which is so- 
bered into milder or dove-like tints when she is married and be- 
comes somber black when she is a widow. Girls marry at sixteen 
or seventeen, and in the matter of marriage the girl has not as 
much option as have her parents, who generally select the groom 
themselves. But when she marries she puts on white, which 



Facts of Interest About Japan. 79 

is the mourning color of the Japanese, and is to indicate that slie 
is dead to her own family, and henceforth is wholly under the 
control of the family of her husband. She passes under the ab- 
solute dominion of the mother-in-law, who is no joke in Japan 
whatever she may be elsewhere. In all these habits the Chinese 
and Japanese are quite similar. 

TAXATION. 

Taxes in Japan are something terrible. Incomes are taxed, 
business is taxed and the property upon which the business is 
transacted is taxed. There are government, state, county, and 
municipal taxes. The public debt is enormous and the expenses 
of the government very great. The Emperor himself has a salary 
of a million and a half dollars and the civil service is quite ex- 
pensive. But notwithstanding all this burden there is an op- 
timistic spirit among the people, who are supporting a public 
school system, costing fifteen million dollars annually, an army 
of 163,000 men and a navy of 40,000, with a splendid line of war- 
ships, and there is no spirit of unrest visible. 

THE FEELING TOWARDS AMERICA. 

So far as I could perceive there is no unfriendliness towards 
America. Notwithstanding that I did not pick up a daily paper 
while I was in the country that there was not in it a telegraphic 
report of some Anti- Japanese sentiment in America, I observed 
no such sentiment in newspaper editorials or among the people. 
1 mingled freely with the people, passed countless multitudes on 
the streets and by train, talked with many representative Japa- 
nese, and I did not hear or see any one who had heard any un- 
friendly expression or demonstration against Americans. On 
the contrary there is apparently the best of feeling towards our 
country with whom there are now so many intimate commercial, 



80 Around the World. 

social and educational relations, that any breach between the coun- 
tries would here be universally deplored as a national calamity. 
But the fact is also evident that America would have a most 
serious job on her hands if she engaged in war with Japan. For 
not only is this nation, with its fifty million people, and its splen- 
did army and navy, a formidable proposition of itself, but in event 
of war it is plain that China would in all probability be her ally, 
and there would be the greatest war of the ages. I feel sure 
that America is wise enough not to be drawn into any trouble 
with Japan. 

A HARDY PEOPLE. 

It is doubtful if in the world there is a people of more powers 
of endurance, of higher athletic qualities than the Japanese. In 
addition to being trained to war and of having had their recent 
triumphant experience with Russia, and to possessing so man}^ ed- 
ucated men, young and old, the people are remarkably strenuous, 
and one of them can undergo more physical exertion than a half 
dozen Americans. There is in the city of Kioto a Jiu-jitsu or 
wrestling and fencing school which I visited, and I could but be 
impressed with the remarkable athletic strength and skill of the 
students and of the training they are receiving along those lines. 

Then the Japanese coolie is simply a marvel of physical power 
and skill. So adding the educated to the uneducated classes and 
the fact that every Japanese esteems it the greatest of all privi- 
leges to die in battle for his country we see what Japan with her 
many millions and her large disciplined army and navy would have 
to present as her resources of power in a war. Should such a war 
be upon this side the ocean she would be well nigh invincible. 



Facts of Interest About Japan. 81 

JAPANESE MONEY. 

There is practically no gold in circulation in Japan, although 
its money system is upon a gold basis. Silver and currency are 
in universal use. The two denominations are yen, worth just half 
an American dollar, and sen, worth half an American cent. Five 
sen, ten sen, twenty sen and fifty sen silver pieces are in circula- 
tion, while yen are in currency of one, five, ten and a hundred yen 
each. The fact of the two denominations of money being just 
half American money simplifies matters for tourists. But ex- 
penses of travel outside of railroad fare are fully as much as in 
America. Hotel rates in some places are higher. 

WHAT JAPAN HAS NOT. 

There are some things which the American tourist misses in 
Japan, and which makes the country seem queer. There are 
practically no carriages, or buggies, or wagons, or cows, or hogs, 
or sheep, or birds, except crows and sparrows, and what makes 
the Missourian more lonesome than anything else is the absence 
of the Missouri mule. There are very few horses, and they are 
of an inferior kind, shod with straw shoes, which have to be re- 
newed daily, and they are led, not driven to carts along the high- 
way. Eliminate all the foregoing from a country, from the rattle 
of a buggy to the bray of a mule, and you can understand how 
sepulchral quiet is over all the land. 



XI. 
A FINAL WORD ABOUT JAPAN. 

Kobe, Japan_, December 5, 1907. 
Japan is making extensive experiments in government owner- 
ship. The government owns and operates all the railroads, post- 
offices and telegraphs, and all the salt, tobacco and camphor and 
several other industries, all of which yield about fifty millions of 
dollars a year. As the management of these properties is exclu- 
sively in the hands of government officials who do not give great 
publicity to government affairs, it is difficult to ascertain how 
profitable the system is proving. There is considerable dissatis- 
faction am,ong the people who do not relish the idea of being ex- 
cluded from the most profitable branches of business. The sys- 
tem grew out of the fact that the trusts had grown too formida- 
ble, and this is the way the government determined to stop the 
evil. The chief reason, however, that impelled the government 
to go into these profitable branches of business was to raise money 
to conduct the war with Russia. Like the tariff' in America it 
was a war measure that has become permanent. All these gov- 
ernment products are stamped, and this stamp tax, which falls 
upon the dealers, yields the national treasury fifteen million dol- 
lars a year. The revenues from taxes, of which there are fifteen 
or twenty kinds, is over a hundred millions of dollars, and the 
total revenue from all sources is two hundred and fifty millions. 
The war with Russia cost Japan six hundred millions of dollars. 
In addition the government paid four hundred millions of dollars 
for railroads. The bonded debt is therefore above a billion of 
dollars. Taxation is very heavy. 

(82) 



A Final Word About Japan. 83 

RATES OF INTEREST FINANCIAL CONDITIONS. 

The banks pay five per cent interest on deposits and loan money 
at eight and nine per cent. Instead of taking notes from depos- 
itors, who are engaged in active business, they charge them in- 
terest upon overdrafts, requiring them to file a statement of their 
financial condition, their assets, notes and accounts and indebted- 
ness. When the borrower is not in business money is loaned him 
upon mortgages, notes being taken as in our country. There are 
not many people of wealth, the vast majority being poor. Many 
are in debt. 

PRODUCE^ MINES,, MANUFACTORIP:S. 

The principal agricultural product is rice. After it come bar- 
ley and wheat and vegetables. Silk is a leading industry and much 
money is made in cotton. There is a large business in coal, cop- 
per, gold and silver mining. Tea is grown in great quantities 
and profitably, and there is a large manufacturing business along 
many lines. But the rural flouring and other mills are very crude 
affairs. 

LAND VALUES. 

Japan is a country of mountains and valleys, chiefly mountains. 
The valleys are very fertile and are thoroughly cultivated. About 
one-sixteenth of the country is arable. Land values are high. 
Land sells by the tsobu, an area six feet square. It requires 
1,200 to make an acre. The average price of farm land is about 
fifty cents a tsobu, or six hundred dollars an acre. Some lands 
sell for several times this amount. The average farm comprises 
about an acre. The farmer who owns several acres is regarded 
rich. 



84 Around the World. 

RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS. 

Apparently the people are overwhelmingly heathen. There are 
said to be 202,000 Buddhist and Shinto priests and only 1,567 
Christian workers. Many have no religion. As schools are be- 
coming more plentiful they are abandoning the absurdities of 
Buddhism and Shintoism, and are becoming agnostics. Infidelity 
is a more serious problem with Christian missionaries than hea- 
thenism. And the heathenism is of the kind Christianity has to 
contend with in America, the intellectual kind. There are mil- 
lions still who are steeped in superstition. But Christianity is 
making decided headway. There are 60,000 Protestant Christians 
and a million who are in sympathy with them. The visitor to 
the country, who comes without prejudice, can but be impressed 
by the high order of intelligence and the profound spirit of con- 
secration and self-sacrifice of the missionaries. They are making 
steady inroads into the heathenism of the people, and if they are 
aided as they should be from America and England it will not be 
long before they will make this a Christian land. 1 myself have 
been surprised at the numbers of Christians that are to be found 
among all classes. 

THE WICKEDNESS OF HEATHENISM. 

While the heathen religions, Shintoism and Buddhism, origi- 
nally contained certain ethical rules of correct living they have 
degenerated into so many diverse creeds and sects and into such 
vague and unintelligible mummery that they are practically noth- 
ing more than empty rituals. They mean nothing, point to noth- 
ing, restrain from nothing. They are pure vents of superstition 
where the ignorant fancy they may ward ofif the evil spirits and 
that they may secure proper habitation for their own souls in the 
mystical Nirvana after death, the heathen theory being that when 



A Final Word About Japan. 85 

people die their souls either enter other people yet to be born or 
into animals or birds or insects or some other living forms. 
Hence when the Buddhist law commands not to kill, the motive 
is not a moral or ethical one, but to restrain people from killing 
their ancestors, for the original doctrine of Buddhism forbade the 
killing of animals or insects equally with people. In killing a bird 
or a fly one might be slaying his grandfather. The heathen 
religions do not aim to affect the moral life. A man may be a 
devout Buddhist or Shintoist and yet wholly immoral in his life. 
The result is that while outwardly social conditions are not bad 
actually they are very corrupt and impure. 

Marriage is not solemnized by any religious ceremony, and 
very many marriages result in separation. Concubinage pre- 
vails among the wealthier, it being a common thing for a 
man to have in addition to his wife several concubines with whom 
he is openly living. Prostitution exists to a frightful extent. In 
the city of Tokio is a section containing many thousand prostitutes 
where the shameless sin is open and notorious, the whole dis- 
trict containing a population covering six blocks of four-story 
houses being given up wholly to the abandoned class. The same 
conditions prevail in all the cities. Fathers even sell their own 
daughters into prostitution, and the daughters, with that filial 
obedience which is a part of their Shinto religion^ go submissively 
into the horrible disgrace, returning to their homes after the time 
contracted to resume lives of social respectability. Such flagrant 
wickedness does not incur censure from the priests or involve 
social downfall or religious reproach. The Buddhist religion al- 
lows its votaries to do whatever they please. Conscience and the 
fear of punishment are the sole moral guide. A people thus mis- 
guided are in need of Christianity which elevates the lives and con- 
sciences of men and requires the highest moral standards. 



86 Around the World. 

SOCIAL CASTESi 

From time immemorial there have been certain social distinc- 
tions in Japan controlled largely by avocations. The highest class 
has been the soldiers; next come the farmers; then the artisans; 
and lastly business men. The lowest of all has been regarded 
the tradesman. This is true in most monarchial countries, and 
especially was true of ancient and mediaeval periods. 

Conditions have changed with the advent of education and 
peace. Commerce is taking a more dignified place, but there are 
still evidences of the contempt in which the tradesman is held. 
The warrior still holds high position. The scholar is coming to 
the front. 

POLITICAL SITUATION. 

They have politics in Japan. There are two parties, the Lib- 
erals and the Progressive. The Liberal party is led by Marquis 
Ito, the ablest man in the Empire, who has practically dic- 
tated the governmental policies for forty years. The leader of the 
Progressive party is Count Okuma, the W. J. Bryan of Japan. 
In visiting his home I observed a picture of himself and Mr. 
Bryan taken together, hanging in his reception room. I soon dis- 
covered that he was a great admirer of the American statesman. 
He cannot speak English, but talks with great energy through an 
interpreter and is forceful, original and interesting. He is a 
remarkable man. He has amassed a large private fortune which 
he is expending in a university, the Waseda, which he established 
in opposition to the Imperial University. The latter he did not 
think was popular or Japanese enough. For a number of years he 
has been a leading factor in public affairs. While premier a few 
years ago his leg was blown ofif by a bomb, but it did not sup- 
press his energy. His party believes in larger liberties to the 



A Final Word About Japan. 87 

people and in placing greater restraint on the Emperor. But it 
is much in the minority. At present the Emperor appoints the 
governors of the states, the House of Lords of the Imperial Diet, 
or Congress, and practically all the officials of the empire, the 
people electing only the lower house of the Diet and the subordi- 
nate officials of the states, counties, and cities. 

GROWTH IN FREEDOM. 

For over a thousand years prior to 1868 the government was 
a kind of feudal system, nominally ruled by an Emperor, but 
really under the domination of a military party called Shoguns, 
subordinate to whom were the Daimios or feudal lords who owned 
the lands and the people as well. After Commodore Perry en- 
tered the bay of Tokio or Yeddo in 1854 and effected a treaty 
by which foreigners were for the first time to be admitted, there 
sprang up a growing dislike of the Shoguns, who were finally 
dispossessed of power in 1868 and the capital was removed from 
Kioto to Tokio. The feudal lords surrendered their rights and 
titles to the lands, and a constitution was promised by the Em- 
peror. But he did not fulfill his promise until thirty-one years 
afterwards, when Marquis Ito promulgated a constitution mod- 
eled after that of Germany. The entire legal code 'of Japan is 
largely Germanic. Since that time there has been a steady growth 
in popular freedom, although the government is yet far from 
being Republican, 

While in Kioto 1 visited the castle of the Shoguns and the 
palace of the Emperor. Both, long deserted and empty, are 
enormous structures, but the palace is plain, while the castle is 
very handsome, showing that the Shoguns were the real rulers, 
while the Emperor was a mere figurehead. When the Shoguns 
were overthrown the Emperor fancied that he was to cease to be 



88 Around the World. 

the mere nominal cipher he and his ancestors had been for so 
many centuries and would have real monarchial functions. But 
he did not understand the progress that the spirit of freedom 
had made. While he is honored and loved by the people it is 
plain that the genius of Democracy has entered the country, 
and under the great educational awakening, the contact with 
other countries, the steady influx of foreigners and the spirit 
of the age is moving on to inevitable supremacy. 

THE POTENTATES OF THREE KINGDOMS. 

In the month we spent in Japan we were afforded the 
opportunity of studying oriental royalty at close range. Besides 
seeing the Emperor of Japan at the big army review we at- 
tended his reception in Tokio at which were nearly all of the Royal 
Family, including the Prince and Princess Imperial. At the 
hotel in which we stopped in Kioto for several days, was Pu Lin, 
son of the Emperor of China. At the same hotel, also while we 
were there was for a day or two the little Crown Prince of Korea, 
who was en route to Tokio, where he is to be educated. He was 
accompanied by Marquis Ito, who is actually in charge of the 
Korean government and is endeavoring to construct some kind of 
a governmental system for that stricken country. Japan has really 
taken Korea under her wing, and while she is allowing that un- 
happy nation to maintain a semblance of a government she has 
really entered upon a scheme of annexation or absorption which 
will finally make it a province of her own Kingdom, provided 
China and Russia will permit it. So the young prince is a pros- 
pective potentate chiefly in name. He is a cleanly, solemn, hand- 
some little chap, twelve years old. In fact all the three princes 
are amiable, decent appearing young fellows, who look as though 
their habits are good, and that they have an appreciative sense 



A Final Word About Japan. 89 

of their probable responsibilities. At least two of them, the Jap- 
anese and Chinese princes, are destined to be conspicuous and 
important factors in the history of the century. 

A CLOUD OF WAR. 

speaking of the Korean prince renders it necessary that there 
should be related an incident in which the writer and his party 
figured in a somewhat interesting manner. After we had been 
at the hotel in Kioto about a week the proprietor informed us 
that we must surrender our rooms as they had been previously 
engaged for the Prince. The ladies of the party protested against 
what they regarded an infringement of American rights and as- 
serted with some vehemence that in America all were kings and 
queens and they would surrender to no one of royal name, es- 
pecially when his tenure to royalty was as feeble and nominal 
as that of a little Korean Prince only twelve years old. For a 
time the contest was heated and it looked as though there would 
be war between America and Japan. But upon the landlord 
showing that the Prince had claim to the rooms by prior con- 
tract and not by reason of his rank, and upon him giving us 
other rooms equally as good, the ladies relented and there is still 
peace between the two nations. 



Xll. 
FROM JAPAN TO CHINA— KOREA. 

Nagasaki, Japan, December lo, 1907. 
The trip from Japan to China is one of the most beautiful 
in the world. Part of it is through the Inland Sea, which extends 
three hundred miles from Kobe to Shamonoseki and for scenic 
beauty is unsurpassed by any body of water we have seen. Vary- 
ing in width from ten to twenty miles, it is clear and placid and 
lies between lofty mountain ranges, some covered with perennially 
green forests and others terraced from base half way to summit 
by gardens and fields by the thrifty and swarming population 
who cultivate every available spot. At their base are frequent 
stretches of valley, which are either covered with villages cosily 
nestling under the mountains, or like the mountain sides, are 
smiling fields or gardens of green. Foaming rivers pour their 
rushing torrents through gorges into the sea, while over cliffs 
dash numerous waterfalls. There are frequent inlets, cosy and 
beautiful. Thousands of emerald islands, some of them sloping 
gently to the water, others rising precipitously to great heights, 
dot the surface of the sea and add picturesqueness and variety 
to the scene. The sea is a combination of the St. Lawrence river. 
Lake George and the Rhine, omitting the splendid mansions and 
castles of the latter. It embodies many of the attractive features 
of them all and is unsurpassed by any of them. The presence 
upon it of limitless sail boats give it the charm and interest of 
constant animation and business activity. It is said that of the 
fifty million of inhabitants of Japan one-third or over sixteen mil- 
lions depend upon fishing alone for subsistence. Hence not only 

(90) 



From Japan to Korea. 91 

its rivers, but its thousands of miles of sea coast, for a hundred 
miles from shore and its Inland Sea swarm with fishing schooners, 
and its markets are burdened with all varieties of fish, which con- 
stitute together with rice, the chief food of the people. In ad- 
dition to these fishing vessels large steamships from all parts of 
the world and an occasional man of war are met. 

OUR SAIL ON THE SEA. 

We can never forget the day we crossed the Inland Sea. We 
embarked at Kobe, Japan's most modern city and destined to 
be her chief seaport. Although it was the fifth of December 
the air was as balmy and mild as an October day in Missouri. 
The sky was cloudless for most of the day. There was but the 
gentlest breeze stirring and the bosom of the sea was like glass. 
A quiet haze hung over the mountains as in our Indian summer, 
and the whole scene was one of indescribable sweetness and 
charm. Above the steamer whirled constant streams of sea gulls 
and the sea was alive with floating craft. Our own steam,er, 
a beautiful boat, Avas not one of the scheduled boats, being upon 
its return from a special trip to Yokohama whence it had taken 
the King of Siam, and hence it had but four passengers besides 
our party, although it had accommodations for a hundred. It 
was like traveling upon a private yacht in ideal weather upon an 
ideal sea. A band was aboard and its sweet music was an ad- 
ditional charm. The fare and service were excellent. We must 
count our trip from Japan to China as a delightful experience. 

OUR FINAL LEAVE-TAKING OF JAPAN. 

The waters of the Inland Sea unite wnth those of the China 
Sea through the straits of Shimonoseki. Upon one shore of the 
straits is the city of Moji, and upon the other the city of Shi- 



92 Around the World. 

monoseki, famous in the history of Japan as having been the 
scene of the final conflict between the Shoguns and the Imperial 
party by which the latter permanently overthrew the former. 
Here also Count Ito and Li Hung Chang signed the treaty of 
peace between Japan and China after the war between those two 
countries. Farther westward, at the extreme end of Japan lies 
Nagasaki, one of the most beautiful harbors in the Orient. 
Here all vessels stop to coal. The process of coaling is novel. 
The coal is brought to the vessels in barges and is thence passed 
up ladders by a long line of men and women, chiefly women, 
in baskets holding about a peck each. Over a hundred people 
are employed in this process which reminded me of the old days. 
in Missouri towns before the advent of fire companies when 
water was passed at fires by cordons of people, in buckets. 
The work consumes a whole day, hundreds of tons being thus 
conve3^ed to the ship at an expense of about one-tenth the cost 
of coaling in San Francisco. The people who do this arduous 
work receive not over twenty cents a day. It is another illus- 
tration of the surplusage of laborers in the orient, and of the 
very low wages paid them. From Nagasaki we turn westward 
to China, after having spent five weeks in Japan. 

KOREA. 

A hundred miles to the north lies Korea, the little country 
that for many years has been such a conspicuous figure in the 
history of the orient. It lies in between Manchuria and China 
and juts down into the sea as Florida does in the United States 
and is about the same size. It contains from ten to fifteen mil- 
lions of people, an easy-going, indolent, dark complected, slov- 
enly population, extremely poor and apparently harmless, but 



From Japan to Korea. 93 

they have been the chief cause of two wars on the part of Japan, 
one with China and the other with Russia. But Japan has finally 
passed into firm control of the country, and while the latter still 
retains a nominal Emperor and government Japan has actual 
possession and is doing what she can to satisfy the people and 
to establish her power in permanent form. No country in the 
world is as much written and talked about, and the reports of 
the treatment her people are receiving at the hands of the Jap- 
anese differ widely. The truth is that the country has been 
benefited by the Japanese protectorate. Her own government 
was wretchedly corrupt. There was no government worthy of 
the name. Ignorance was widespread and the people were de- 
graded and superstitious. But under Marquis Ito, Japan's great- 
est statesman, who is in personal charge of the protectorate, ef- 
ficiency and honesty have supplanted incapacity and corruption 
in the public service, a new code of laws has been promulgated, 
and a well organized school system has been put into operation, 
a thousand miles of railway connecting the cities of Fushan, 
Seoul, Chemulpoo and Penyang and stretching to Manchuria 
and China have been built, and are being efficiently managed. 
A train taken at Fushan, the southern port, conveys passengers 
three hundred miles north to Seoul, and thence connects with 
trains which run on to Pekin. There is also a fine line of steam- 
ships on the west to Chinese ports. 

NOT OPPRESSED BY JAPANESE. 

The stories of oppression of the Koreans by the Japanese are 
not warranted by the facts. I myself had opportunity to witness 
an imposing manifestation of kindly feeling by the Japanese 
towards the Koreans. There stopped at the same hotel at which 



94 Around the World. 

I lodged while in Kioto the little Korean Crown Prince, twelve 
years old and looking even younger, a chubby little chap of 
light complexion and pleasing countenance, dressed in military 
clothes and looking like a drummer boy. He was accompanied 
by Marquis Ito and a retinue and was en route to Tokio where 
he is to attend school for a term of years. The demonstrations 
of welcome by the city were upon a grand scale. The streets 
were decorated with flags and bunting and all the public schools 
took a two days' holiday and the students to the number of 
several thousand joined in procession and bearing flags and in 
uniform gave him enthusiastic welcome. At night they formed 
a torchlight procession, each student carrying a Japanese lamp 
uplifted at the end of a pole, marched to the hotel and amid 
shouts and music by bands tendered the little prince as royal a 
welcome as though he had been crown prince of Japan instead 
of possessing the empty title to the nominal crown of a van- 
quished nation. The Koreans who had feared that their prince 
was being spirited away to be held by Japan as a hostage were 
greatly pleased with these manifestations of honor. 

MARQUIS ITO. 

Evidently this demonstration had been planned by Marquis 
Ito, the Japanese statesman and diplomat, who has undertaken 
the work of reconstructing the government of Korea, and of 
establishing it upon a higher plane under the Aegis of Japan. 
It indicated that his methods were conciliatory instead of com- 
pulsory. No one man has done as much for Japan as Ito. He 
is easily her greatest statesman. Born a peasant he has by 
sheer force of ambition and intellect risen to a position where 
he is a greater force than even the Emperor. He drafted the 



From Japan to Korea. 95 

constitution, reorganized the government when it overthrew the 
Shogunate in 1868, has originated most of the poHcies and 
changes which have pushed Japan to the forefront, has led her 
into war and prepared her treaties of peace, and now is en- 
gaged in the crowning work of his hfe^ the unification of Korea 
and Japan. In no other nation is there any one man who for 
so long a time has been such a dominating force in his own land. 
In conversation he expressed the utmost friendliness towards the 
United States and declared that it would require extreme prov- 
ocation to lead Japan into war with our country. But "once 
in it," he said, "Japan would sacrifice her last man and dollar 
rather than yield." He evidently does not regard war between 
the countries as even a remote probability. 

THE KOREANS. 

Korea is a colder country than Japan. Her people live in 
warmer houses. They also dress in warmer clothing, chiefly 
white. One reason for white is because it is the color for 
mourning and it is their custom to mourn three years for their 
dead. They wear long coats and tie their pants around the an- 
kles with strings. The hats are high and narrow and sit on the 
tops of their heads and are tied under the chins by strings. 
Men who are unmarried wear their hair in a long braid, but 
when they marry they comb it to the top of the head where it 
is tied in a knot. Women are seldom seen on the street and men 
are not allowed on the streets at night. The chief products are 
rice, beans and peas. The implements of industry are the crud- 
est. i\s in Japan there are few if any cows or hogs or sheep 
or wheeled vehicles except rikshas and carts. A great religious 
wave has lately swept over the country. The people have em- 



96 Around the World. 

braced Christianity by thousands, and it is said that there are 
a thousand church houses and that practically all the people 
are accessible to them. The religious enthusiasm and devotion 
of the people is remarkable, and has had a marked influence in 
their lives. The missionary v^ork has been done chiefly by Pres- 
byterians and Methodists, and there have been few parallels to 
the great religious awakening of the people. Seoul, a walled 
city, has a flourishing Y. M. C. A. to which Mr. John Wanamaker 
has given a building. He also gave buildings to the Y. M. C. A. 
at Kioto, Japan, and Pekin, China. 




SCENES IN CHINA— Buddhist Temple end Pagoda— Group of Natives— Boats in 

jrhich Nc.ti-ves in Canton D-zvell 



CHINA. 



XIII. 
CHINA. 

Shanghai, China, December 20, 1907. 
There has not been a time when there was as much widespread 
interest in the Orient as at present. Of the oriental countries 
China is by far the most important, and is destined to increase 
in interest. For this there are several reasons : It has the 
largest population of any nation. Its population is unified. It 
has the longest continuous history. It covers the most territory. 
It is two thousand miles from Pekin south to Canton, and six 
hundred from Shanghai west to Hankow. As these are the four 
principal cities and in their characteristics reflect the varying 
phases of the national life and in their location mark the boun- 
daries of a large part of the empire we visited them all, remain- 
ing at each as long as possible and taking in such intermediate 
points as we could. Of these cities Shanghai is regarded the 
New York, Pekin the Washington, Hanchow the Chicago and 
Canton, the most typical Chinese city of them all. There are 
many other cities like Tient-sen, Foochow, Hoochow, Soochow, 
Yangchow, Chefoo, Ningpoo, Swatow, Hanchow and Nanking 
of between a fourth of a million and a million of people. Cities 
of some hundred thousand are scattered far and wide, while 
the country teems with villages. 

THE COUNTRY. 

China is supposed to have a population of over four hundred 
millions. The empire is divided into eighteen provinces covering 
two millions of square miles, but its tributary states Increase 
this area to over five million, three hundred thousand. These 
provinces are divided into prefectures of about ten each, and 
these prefectures are still further subdivided into counties, which 

(99) 



100 Around the World. 

contain cities and villages. The provinces are ruled by viceroys, 
there sometimes being one viceroy to two or more provinces, in 
which event each province has a governor. The prefectures are 
ruled by prefects, the counties by officials called Hsiens, and 
cities by magistrates. AH these are appointed by the Empress 
Dowager,* who is practically absolute monarch. There is no con- 
gress or parliament or supreme court. The Empress is the 
law-making power, her edicts being the law of the land, and she 
also, so far as any judicial interpretation is rendered, decides, and 
executes them. There is an Emperor, but he is a mere figure- 
head, having been set aside by his aunt the Empress in 1898 and 
being little more than a prisoner in the palace. 

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER. 

The Empress is very old, uneducated, but of strong character. 
She was the concubine of the father and sister of the mother of 
the present emperor. She is suspected of having caused the 
death of both the Emperor and Empress and her own son. She 
wrested the throne from her nephew when the latter began to in- 
stitute certain reforms, and not long after she did so came the 
terrible Boxer insurrection. But of late years she, herself, has 
manifested a reformatory spirit. She is aided in the administra- 
tion of the government by a council or cabinet of twelve who are 
in charge of the various departments and practically manage the 
civil service. The government is basely corrupt. Bribery pre- 
vails from the Empress down to the lowest official, with some 
notable exceptions. It is claimed that money paid to a sham 
eunuch of the Empress Dowager will secure from her any favor, 
while it is notorious that nine-tenths of the officials enrich them- 
selves by corrupt methods. Boodling is rife in all departments 
of the government. 



* Since the above was written the Empress Dowager has died. 



China. 101 

SHANGHAI. 

We landed at Shanghai, as do all foreigners who come to 
China from America by way of Japan. It is a city of possibly a 
million, of whom some ten thousand are foreigners, a large ma- 
jority being British. The Americans, French and Germans num- 
ber about a thousand each, the British six thousand. There is 
a native city within walls and a foreign or international city, 
the latter under the control of the foreign and Chinese population 
within it, there being some 400,000 Chinese and 10,000 foreigners. 
By international agreement each nationality has its own courts 
before which its citizens are tried, this extra-territorial arrange- 
ment forbidding Chinese with their crude ideas of justice and pe- 
culiar, corrupt and prejudicial courts from trying an offender who 
is a foreigner. The Chinese court is something unique. The 
prisoner is presumed to be guilty and if the oiifense with which he 
is charged is a capital one he is often tortured by whipping or 
other punishment until he confesses. There are no Chinese law- 
yers worthy the name, and the prisoner and witnesses are ques- 
tioned by the magistrate, who is more often influenced by the 
money paid him than by any sense of justice. There are no 
higher courts of appeal, except the Emperor or Empress, and no 
trial by jury. 

The city of Shanghai is situated about thirty miles from the 
ocean, on the Huang Po River, so far inland that at times large 
steamers cannot enter its harbor. The first impression is pleasing. 
The traveler is brought by steam launch from his ship to a 
wharf along side a broad street, or Bund, as all streets fronting 
harbors are called, which is lined with stately business houses, 
clubs and hotels and is itself a scene of great bustle and activity. 
Rikshas, carriages, coolies illimitable with their everlasting bab- 



102 Around the World. 

ble, pedestrians of all nations swarm the street and produce an 
impression that one is in a metropolis like unto Europe and 
America and in striking contrast with anything seen in Japan. 

Shanghai is a great educational point. The chief institution 
of learning is an Episcopal College, called St. John, which has an 
attendance of three hundred boys and one hundred and fifty girls. 
It has large and handsome buildings and grounds. The charge 
for board and tuition is $75 gold per year. There is a 
medical college and hospital. The Methodists have both a boys' 
and a girls' college with an attendance of several hundred. Rev. 
J. W. Kline, formerly of Arkansas, is president. The Foreign 
Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention owns a fine 
boys' and also a girls' school and several excellent residences. Both 
the Northern and Southern Mission Boards of the Baptists are 
erecting a large theological seminary on a commanding point upon 
the Huang Po River near Shanghai. Rev. R. T. Bryan and Rev. 
J. T. Proctor, the latter of Missouri, Prof. F. J. White, also of 
Missouri, are among those in charge of this institution, which has 
now some forty students for the ministry. 

The streets of Shanghai are macadamized and are broad and 
handsome. I refer to the modern city. The streets of the native 
quarters are narrow and antiquely Chinese. The bank and club 
buildings are specially imposing and the business establishments 
are on a modern scale. I visited a large Chinese publishing house 
which employs six hundred printers and book binders, at wages 
that would make an American Trades Union go into spasms. 
Printers are paid two dollars and fifty cents per week and girls 
and apprentices from ten to fifteen cents a day. The Presb3'terian 
Mission Press is conducted by Mr. Clarence Douglas, formerly of 
Topeka, Kansas. 



China. 103 

HOTELS, STREETS, INSTITUTIONS, ETC. 

There are two fairly good hotels, the Astor and Palace, but 
neither equal to first-class American hotels, although their prices 
are higher considering the service. I regret to say that the fare is 
not good. There is no steam heat and no elevators. There is a 
superfluous number of waiters. Labor is so cheap and laborers so 
abundant that where an American home or hotel has one servant 
over here there are three or four and they are excellent, not so 
obsequious as in Japan, but more efficient. We spent Christmas 
day in Shanghai and the weather was delightful. We attended 
services on that day at the English Cathedral, a very large brick 
edifice built in the form of a cross. The decorations were beau- 
tiful and the services impressive. Nearly all the other Evangel- 
ical denominations, here as in most Asiatic cities, worship in a 
Union church. We have attended it several times. 

CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT INEVITABLE. 

Manifestly present governmental conditions cannot continue. 
They are a thousand years behind the age. Of recent years there 
has been such progress in education, commerce and popular intel- 
ligence as to make it inevitable that there must be a representative 
government at no distant day. Already steps have been taken for 
the promulgation of a constitution, on the lines of those of Ger- 
many or England. A new public school system is being inaugu- 
rated, and many schools, academies and colleges under missionary 
boards are already in operation in the principal cities. Many 
thousands of Chinese are attending college in Japan, United States 
and Europe and there is a genuine educational uprising. Most 
of the principal cities have large foreign concessions occupied by 
many thousands of foreigners of wealth and high professional and 



104 Around the World. 

commercial ability who are not only working a revolution, but are 
becoming such leading factors as to warrant the belief that it will 
not be long before John Chinaman will have to take a back seat 
even in his own land. All these conditions render it certain that 
the present corrupt and effete monarchy can not continue. 

There is a lack of the national spirit so observable in Japan, and 
the vast majority of the people are less intelligent and not fitted 
for self-government. But by establishing an educational qualifica- 
tion the franchise could be permitted before many years. One of 
the most marked advancements made of recent years is that of ex- 
aminations for the Civil Service. Formerly the only qualification 
required was that of a knowledge of the books of Confucius and 
other ancient Chinese sages. This absurd law has been abro- 
gated and now candidates for official appointment have to undergo 
examinations in the special work of the office. It is said that 
this change in an ancient and time-honored law was one of the 
chief causes of the Boxer uprising. 



XIV. 



FROM THE INTERIOR OF CHINA. 

On the Yangtse River, December 27, 1907. 

This city of Yangchow is enclosed within walls, and is said to 
be two thousand years old. The walls are fifty feet high and 
equally as wide at base. There are several gates, all of which 
are locked at sundown and opened at sunrise. Each block is also 
locked up at night by gates called "thief gates," the purpose being 
to keep out thieves. All during the night at intervals a watchman 
may be heard beating something like a drum, the purpose of which 
is to scare away thieves. It would seem that it would be a warn- 
ing he was coming. But there are no thieves, for every body 
leaves their doors open at night and there is rarely a burglary. 

The Chinese officials are very severe upon the crime of theft. 
They cut off the thief's head. It is regarded as bad as murder. 
The city is situated upon the Grand Canal, one hundred and 
seventy miles from Shanghai and eighteen miles north of the 
Yangtse Kiang river, Marco Polo, the great Italian traveler, is 
said to have once been its governor. It has no street over eight 
feet wide. It contains over three hundred thousand inhabitants, 
but it has not a wagon or buggy or carriage, or horse or news- 
paper, or foreign hotel. The only means of transportation is upon 
the backs of little donkeys or in Sedan chairs. The streets are 
too narrow even for rickshas. It has no municipal council and no 
poHce court. It is ruled by a magistrate, who has all power civil 
and criminal, subject only to reversal by the Empress Dowager. 

There are but four foreign families : Dr. and Mrs. P. S. Evans, 
of Baltimore, Rev. and Mrs. L. W. Pierce, of Texas, Dr. and Mrs. 

(105) 



106 Around the World. 

A. S. Taylor, of Mobile, and Rev. and Mrs. A. Y. Napier, of Ten- 
nessee, all missionaries of the Southern Baptist Convention. Mr. 
Pierce and Mr. Napier have charge of the Mission and Drs. Evans 
and Taylor operate a medical missionary hospital. Dr. Evans' 
wife is the daughter of Hon. Joshua Levering, of Baltimore, and 
Dr. Taylor's wife is the daughter of Rev. Mr. Cox, of Mobile; 
all are refined and delightful people, and I could but admire the 
spirit of devotion and unselfishness which they exhibit in their 
work in this isolated field. In addition to these Miss J. K. Mc- 
Kenzie, assisted by Miss M. Moorman, is conducting a school for 
girls. There is also a school for boys. 

STREETS, HOUSES AND STORES. 

There is no gas or electric light, and the streets are in utter 
darkness at night, except from the lights that come from the stores 
and shops. I took a leisurely walk through the principal business 
street. It was eight feet in width and crowded at all times with 
pedestrians, who were frequently interrupted b}^ warning screams 
from coolies carrying Sedan chairs or some burden or leading a 
donkey. The aristocratic ride in Sedan chairs and on donkeys. 
The stores and shops were small affairs, dark and low, not over 
twenty or thirty feet square and entirely open in front. No build- 
ings were over two stories and most of them were one story. In 
these shops were offered for sale every conceivable article of traffic 
or merchandise, jewelry, dry goods, groceries, confections, meat, 
hardware and on to the end of the list. I priced some articles, but 
could not discover that the charges were less than in America. 
There are no residences with front lawns as In America. The 
most uninteresting and narrow streets, where the walls of the 
houses are blank and plain are often the residence streets. At 



The Interior of China. 107 

times the front is occupied as a store or shop, but an alley or 
narrow passage runs back to the home, which is situated in an 
area, court or compound, secluded from the street, and in this hid- 
away place is often the home of the rich. It is prettily furnished 
and has a nice yard. 

The family life of the Chinese is different from the Japanese. 
'The inmates sit on chairs about a table and not on the floor as in 
Japan. But they eat with chopsticks, and it is usual for all the 
family, the sons and the daughters-in-law and grandchildren, 
sometimes in large numbers, to live together and the mother-in- 
law is monarch of them all. I saw one house in Shanghai built 
by a wealthy Chinese woman for herself and fourteen children 
and grandchildren. It is difficult to imagine anything more of- 
fensive than the streets of a Chinese city. There is no sewerage 
and all the filth and offal of the homes is carried through the 
streets continually or sits in repugnant obtrusiveness upon the 
sidewalk. Many of the streets are slippery with grease and filth, 
and one's sense of modesty is frequently sadly wrenched by spec- 
tacles he cannot escape beholding along the way, but of which 
the natives take no notice. One of the most offensive sights is 
that witnessed along the canals or streams which flow through the 
cities. Frequently they are thick with scum, and they are recep- 
tacles of the city sewage, yet women will be observed washing 
rice and laundering clothes and men taking partial baths side by 
side, and the water is dipped up and drank after being boiled. 

AS TO WATER. 

The Chinese do not drink water to any extent. They drink 
tea almost exclusively. They do not drink coffee or whiskey or 
beer or wine. They are tea drinkers pure and simple. If they 



108 Around the World. 

drink water at all it is after it is boiled. They have a theory 
that unboiled water is poisonous. A gentleman told me of a 
young Chinese woman who attempted to commit suicide by drink- 
ing unboiled water. Tourists shy from the water and most of 
them substitute wine or charged or mineral waters. But our party 
has stuck to the boiled waters furnished by good hotels and have 
discovered no evidence of poison as yet. 

THE TRIP TO YANGCHOW. 

But I must tell you of the trip from Shanghai to Yangchow 
and of what I saw along the way. It was by way of the Shang- 
hai and Nanking Railway, recently finished. I never traveled upon 
a better built or equipped railroad in England or America. Both 
first and second class cars were upholstered in leather and con- 
structed like American cars, and not in the carriage or compart- 
ment shape as on most European and Asiatic railroads, I had a 
lunch upon it that I must pronounce the best I ever ate upon any 
railroad car : Soup, fish, beef, duck, rice, plum-pudding, fruit, all 
served beautifully and cooked in a manner worthy of a Missouri 
housekeeper. The railroad fare was most reasonable: For first 
class, two cents per mile ; second class, one cent ; third class, a half 
cent and fourth class one-third cent. Our trip lay along the Grand 
Canal, which runs from Pekin to Hanchow, several thousand miles 
and is the largest canal in the world. Innumerable branches 
stretch out from it in all directions and these are filled with sail 
boats, fishing smacks and small cargo craft, presenting a most 
lively appearance. The canal runs north to the Yangtse Kiang 
river, which pours its waters into the ocean not far above Shang- 
hai. Within this triangle between the Canal and the Yangtse river a 
section of some fifteen thousand square miles, about one-fourth 



The Interior of China. 109 

the size of Missouri, dwell twenty millions of people. If Missouri 
were as thickly settled it would have a population of eighty mil- 
lion, or as many people as were in all the United States in 1900. 
The country is very fertile, being the results of ages of silt from 
the rivers, but is void of trees and is everywhere flat. It is re- 
lieved by frequent villages and an occasional walled city. The 
people live by raising rice and beans and cotton and vegetables 
and by fishing. It is incredible how so dense a population exists 
upon such resources. 

THE DEAD AS WELL AS LIVING. 

This section of China is literally covered with graves. In the 
gardens and fields, along the river banks, everywhere, are the 
mounds of varying sizes in which are buried the dead, a pathetic 
reminder that millions have lived in China in the past as well as 
today. No stones or monuments mark the resting places of these 
unknown dead and it is said that with each changing dynasty the 
mounds are leveled and the graves obliterated. It is certainly nec- 
essary, as otherwise the graves would so cover the face of the 
earth as to render its further cultivation impossible. 

SOOCHOW. 

Fifty miles north of Shanghai on the Shanghai and Nanking 
Railroad is Soochow, a city of a million and by many regarded 
the most interesting and beautiful city of China. It is called the 
Paris of China. It is very ancient, and like Yangchow is supposed 
to have existed before the Christian era, although its history is 
hazy. It is surrounded by a wall twelve miles in length, fifty feet 
high and fifty feet at base. Enveloping the wall is a broad moat 
•or canal, similar to those encompassing ancient castles and forts 



110 Around the World. 

in Europe. We are taken across the moat in a house boat, and 
after passing the city wall we enter immediately the grounds of the 
Soochow University, under the control of the Methodist Church' 
South of America. It occupies a campus of ten acres, has a num- 
ber of large and commodious buildings and one hundred and fifty 
students, whose board and tuition cost $125 a year each. The 
buildings and grounds are valued at $75,000 gold, and would 
be worth twice or three times that amount in America. Its Pres- 
ident, Dr. D. L. Anderson and its leading Professor, Dr. W. B. 
Nance, are well known in America. In addition to giving the 
students a full collegiate education it has a flourishing medical de- 
partment and hospital. 

FEATURES OF INTEREST. 

A series of canals thread the city, being a reminder of Venice. 
As in Yangchow the streets are narrow, from six to eight feet, 
and there are no wheeled vehicles of any kind. A pagoda one 
hundred feet high and of great antiquity is the most striking ar- 
chitectural feature. There is also a leaning pagoda similar to 
that at Pisa. We were delightfully entertained at the homes of 
Revs. T. C. Britton and C. G. McDaniel, and besides them and 
their wives met Miss Sophia Lanneau, formerly of Lexington, 
Missouri, and Rev. P. W. Hamlett. 

CHENKIANG AND THE YANGTSE. 

A hundred miles farther north by rail we reach Chenkiang, 
also a walled city, but with so many foreign concessions and 
consulates outside the walls, that it has been practically 
divested of its ancient or even Chinese aspects, so far as the 
architecture of the buildings or the width of the streets go. 



The Interior of China. Ill 

Like Soochow and Yangchow it literally swarms with Chinese. 
I thought the congestion of population in Japan was great, 
but it is even greater in China. Chenkiang sits romantically 
upon bluffs overlooking the great Yangtse river and in loca- 
tion resembles Jefferson City, Missouri. It is an open port 
and several consulates and custom houses are here located. 
It also has a large and beautiful pagoda. The view of the city 
from an adjoining bluff is one of the most inspiring I have seen 
anywhere. The railroad has been finished to it within the past two 
months and there is reason to expect it to become an important 
city. It is important already. We were pleasantly entertained 
there by Revs. W. E. Crocker, formerly of North Carolina, and 
T. F. McCrae, formerly of Virginia, the latter of whom was one 
of the most efficient members of the committee which disbursed 
a million dollars last year to the famine sufferers. The famine 
region was a hundred miles north of Chenkiang. The stories of 
suffering are horrible. A million actually starved, but a million 
were rescued by the timely contributions mostly from America, 

THE YANGTSE KIANG RIVER. 

At Chenkiang we beheld for the first time the splendid Yangtse 
Kiang River. The word means "Son of the ocean." We were 
startled by the size of the stream and no less so by the nu- 
merous mammoth steamers which ply upon it. It is wider than 
the Mississippi and is as muddy as the Missouri, and as treacher- 
ous for navigation. It widens as it flows toward the sea and also 
contracts and widens for hundreds of miles towards its source. It 
is over i,6oo miles in length and runs nearly across the empire. 
It is navigable for a thousand miles. We write these paragraphs 
while upon one of its beautiful steamers, sailing from Shanghai to 



112 Around the World. 

Hankow, six hundred miles west, whence we will go by rail to 
Pekin. It is certainly a magnificent stream. While flowing 
through muddy banks and adjacent to flat lands, there is in nearly 
constant view, in the distance, mountains wrapped in snow. The 
river itself is alive with steamers, sail boats, schooners and smaller 
craft. We pass villages and adobe houses without number. The 
first city of importance is Nanking, called the Boston of China, 
the Capital of the Province and the home of the viceroy. It is 
said to be the home of more educated people than any other Chi- 
nese city. There are 300,000 Chinese and 100 foreign inhabitants. 
It was once the capital of China, and near to it are buried some 
of the ancient emperors. It is enclosed in walls twenty miles long 
and nestles beautifully in a valley under the shadow of snow-cov- 
ered mountains. Thence forward the river pursues its course by 
the cities of Woohoo, Kukiang and Hankow, the Chicago of 
China, where we land and take train for Pekin. 

We have nowhere had a river trip where the scenery was more 
attractive and where the steamer was more comfortable, and we 
do not except either the Rhine or the Hudson. The Yangtse com- 
bines many of the characteristics of both those rivers added to the 
Mississippi. And the wonder of it all is that all this should be in 
China. Nothing one sees so impresses him with this country's 
"awakening" as that which he beholds on this great river. The 
center of America or Europe is not more modern, more expres- 
sive of commercial activity, and civilized progress. 




SCEXES IN CHINA~Te 



^A~Ternple of Hea-ven in Pekin-Buddhist Temple-T^vo V 
of the Great fCall-A Chinese Market Srer,. 



XV. 

CHINESE CUSTOMS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 

Hankow, China, December 30, 1907. 
The Chinaman has an individualism all his own. No one else 
looks, talks or acts as he does. Take his queue for instance. He 
wears it because it was prescribed as a mark of servitude by his 
Manchu conquerors in 1644. All other people would like to 
abolish a badge of servitude. He is proud of it. He writes his 
name and books backward, but in this respect he is not different 
from the Japanese. When he meets you he shakes his own hand 
instead of yours, and instead of asking "how are you?" he asks, 
"how old are you?" In conversation with each other, especially 
along the public highways, they shout in a manner that leads those 
who do not understand the language to imagine they are quarrel- 
ing, and will be in a fight in a minute. But while they can out- 
revile any people in the world they are physical cowards and 
never fight. They live practically on but three articles of food : 
rice, fish and tea, with some beans and sweet potatoes and other 
vegetables. They know little, if anything, of bread or butter or 
milk, and eat but little meat except fish. 

THE TWO NATIONAL EVILS. 

The two great evils of China are opium-eating and foot-bind- 
ing, one the curse of the men, the other of the women. The mis- 
sionaries and public reformers have made a long and persistent 
fight upon both evils, until finally the government has been 
aroused and there have been edicts from the throne within the 
past few years forbidding public officials, upon the penalty of the 

(113) 



114 Around the World. 

loss of their office, to eat opium, and providing for the gradual ex- 
tinction of the evil, and the suppression of the traffic within the 
next ten years. But notwithstanding this action of the govern- 
ment the habit prevails to a great extent. However it can be said 
to their credit that they do not drink whiskey or beer and they 
have no open saloons. 

The most horrible custom of the Chinese and one to which they 
still cling with strange and barbarous tenacity is that of foot-bind- 
ing. Although anti-foot-binding societies all over the empire 
have been making war upon it for years, and the government has 
tried to stop it, the habit prevails to an alarming extent. We no- 
ticed that the number of children upon the streets was not to be 
compared to that seen in Japan, and the explanation given was 
that the little girls were imprisoned in the homes with bound feet. 
The binding begins when the child is five or six years of age, or 
even younger. Girls have been known to begin at sixteen^ because 
they could not get a husband otherwise, and some young man 
had made it a condition of marriage. In many aristocratic circles, 
not in all, it is regarded an evidence of low birth for a girl not to 
have little bound feet, and among all classes it is considered a dis- 
grace for a girl not to be married soon after she reaches the mar- 
riageable age. The toes and heel are gradually bound together 
by strong bandages, which are drawn together until the bones 
bend or break and finally after several years of excruciating suf- 
fering the foot becomes but little more than a club on the end of 
the ankle, but the binding has to be kept up through life or nature 
will partially restore the foot to a normal shape. Thus women 
are doomed from childhood to this ridiculous and awful torture. 
It is said that the wails of the little children in the homes are most 
distressing, while the mothers keep a rod convenient to punish 



Chinese Customs and Characteristics. 115 

them for crying. At times gangrene sets in and the foot drops off 
or the entire lower limb or body is paralyzed and not infrequently 
death ensues. It is pathetic to see women hobbling about upon 
their little feet, walking as though they were on stilts. It is grat- 
if3dng to notice in the different mission schools we have attended 
that none of the girls have bound feet. If Christianity does noth- 
ing more for China than to stop or even arrest this barbarous evil 
it will be worth all it costs. The more intelligent Chinese are try- 
ing to have it stopped. In this the government is aiding. The re- 
form was started by the missionaries. 

THE ELEVATION OF WOMEN. 

In no way are Christian missions and education exerting a more 
marked influence than in behalf of Chinese women. From time 
immemorial woman has been a drudge and slave. But gradually 
she is assuming a more honorable and dignified place. At the 
schools I have attended I have been greatly impressed with the 
modest and refined bearing of the girls and of their sprightliness 
and culture. Education has the effect to divest them of the Chi- 
nese, almond-eyed appearance and to impart an expression not un- 
like that of the Caucasian. In several schools I heard them sing 
and recite both in English and Chinese and I was much impressed 
with the progress and proficiency they exhibited. Naturally, the 
Chinese boy or girl has no more music than a hawk; but these 
girls sang like nightingales. 

DRESS AND MANNER. 

In no manner do Chinese exhibit their contrary way of doing 
things more than in dress. The men wear dresses and the women 
wear trousers. The men have long hair and wear caps and the 



116 Ai'ound the World. 

women go bare-headed. The coohes or lower class of men, dress 
in blue or black blouses and the wealthy wear long wooden shoes 
or sandals as in Japan. Both men and women wear cloth slippers. 
I attended a girls' school where all the girls wore a uniform of 
light frock coats and black trousers, and in the same city I was at 
a boys' school where the boys wore long skirts. The Chinese are 
not as obsequious as the Japanese, do not bow as many times, but 
they impress you more with their sincerity. They are apparently 
a stronger people intellectually and morally. 

HUMAN HORSES. 

Men and women are the beasts of burden. Repeatedly I have 
seen as many as twenty men hitched to a roller or wagon, and 
men not only haul the rickshas and pull wagons of lumber and 
merchandise through the streets, but drag great ships along the 
canals. Women work in the fields and bear as heavy and grievous 
burdens as the men. They may be seen hauling carts and rowing 
boats and doing other menial work. But my observation has 
been that the woman's lot is not as hard as in Japan. She, how- 
ever, still occupies a menial place in the home. The birth of a 
girl is regarded a great misfortune. 

WAGES. 

The cheapness of labor as in Japan is almost incredible. Or- 
dinary laborers are paid from ten to fifteen cents a day and car- 
penters and masons twenty-five cents and feed themselves. Na- 
tive preachers are paid from $5 to $7.50 per month, and the best 
prices paid educated boys and girls as clerks and in professional 
work is from $10 to $30 per month. But when it is known that 
the cost of living of the laboring class is but little over six cents a 



Chinese Customs and Characteristics. 117 

day it will be understood why they can Uve on these wages. The 
house servants and cooks receive about $6 per month. The Chi- 
nese make ideal servants. They are faithful and capable. 

MONEV^ INTEREST. 

Banks loan money at eight and nine per cent., taking mortgages 
as security. But Chinese in loaning to each other exact usurious 
interest, two per cent, or more per month. All interest is com- 
pounded quarterly. Banks pay two per cent, interest on current 
deposits. The money in universal use is Mexican dollars, whose 
price varies daily. At present it is worth about forty-six cents of 
American money, and a tael is about sixty-five cents. Mexican 
dollars are lower now than for years. This fluctuation in the 
valuation of money makes business a vexatious matter, as the 
prices have to be constantly altered as the value of money changes. 

LAND PRICES AND TRANSFERS. 

Land is measured by the mow, which is a sixth of an acre, and 
sells near Shanghai at from $300 to $400 gold an acre. Prices 
vary in different parts of the empire. Taxes are levied on land 
only and at the rate of from $5 to $6 per acre. There are some 
interesting and amusing features about the transfers of land. 
When a sale is made by a native to a foreigner that is not the end 
of it. There is first given a "sighing deed," the meaning of which 
is to give the seller an opportunity to think over the sale and com- 
plain if he thinks he has not been paid enough. When he thus 
complains and is paid a little more there is then executed an 
"add a little more deed." If he is still not satisfied there is given 
"a pull up root and go deed," which ends the transaction, and all 
these deeds are placed on record, showing that the seller had 



118 Around the World. 

complained, had been given more than first price and finally had 
consented and acknowledged satisfaction. All this is stamped on 
the deed in both English and Chinese, for this peculiar form of 
transaction only prevails between Chinese and foreigners, it 
having been adopted to keep foreigners from cheating the natives. 

THE POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE. 

While there are so many millions in China and the congestion 
of population is tremendous the rural districts do not give evi- 
dence of it. They are barren frequently for great stretches of dis- 
tances. There are no fences, no large farm houses, no farm ma- 
chinery, no horses or mules or cattle. The farm implements are 
the crudest, the same as the country has had for thousands of 
years. Plows are rarely seen, and where used, have but one han- 
dle and are pulled by a water buffalo or a steer. China has an 
amount of awakening yet to do in agriculture. The people live in 
the villages and isolated farm houses are rarely observed. 

LOSING FACE. 

The most grievous misfortune that can befall a Chinaman is to 
"lose his face." Its meaning is mortification at failure. If he 
attempts to do anything and fails, or makes an assertion that is 
controverted or in any way suffers defeat or reversal he is said 
to "lose face," and such is at times his humiliation that he will 
commit suicide. "Losing face" means rather detection in a 
failure or a wrong than any inward compunction or suffering for 
the thing itself. It is the disgrace which ensues upon being dis- 
covered. 

BIRDS, DEER, DUCK AND OTHER GAME. 

China is a paradise for hunters. Many of the forests are full 
of deer and wild hogs, and the rivers and lakes swarm 



Chinese Customs and Characteristics. 119 

with wild ducks and geese. The pheasant is found in large 
quantities and is the best fowl for the table in the world, is equally 
as good as quail and they are as large as chickens. The one bird 
here that reminds the Missourian of home is the crow. In some 
places they nearly blacken the air and they have the identical caw, 
caw, caw, of the Missouri crow, and are like him in all respects. 

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 

As is well known the vast majority of Chinese are worshipers 
of Confucius and Buddha. But, as in Japan there is evidence 
here of a falling away from the heathen religions. Many of the 
temples are little more than junk shops and there is practically no 
reverence for them. But the Chinese continue to be very super- 
stitious and it will be some time before they will change. 

Christian missionaries are kindly received, and while they are 
moving slowly, they are making some progress and it cannot be 
long before the darkness of heathendom will disappear. Social 
conditions here, as in Japan, are bad, but hardly so bad as there. 
Concubinage is rife and a regard for marital ties is not what it 
should be. But no one can go throughout China without being 
convinced that it will not be many years before the onward tide of 
commerce, civilization and Christianity will penetrate all de- 
partments of Chinese life and make this one of the greatest civ- 
ilized nations in the world. 



XVI. 

FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 

Pekin_, China, January 3, 1908. 
My last letter was written upon a steamer on the Yangtse 
River between Shanghai and Hankow. I do not now recall what 
I said about that river, but this experience was so delightful that 
I must again refer to it at the expense of repetition. The dis- 
tance between Shanghai and Hankow via the Yangtse is six 
hundred miles. The river is navigable for large steamers for the 
entire distance, and several lines have boats constantly running, 
which with the innumerable freight vessels and fishing schooners 
make it a scene of never-ending life and activity. It resembles in 
this respect the Hudson between New York and Albany. The 
steamers are equally as handsome and well equipped. But the 
river is much wider, being fully as broad as the Mississippi be- 
tween Memphis and New Orleans. The steamer upon which we 
had passage was one of the finest upon which we have travelled 
either in America or Europe. The officers were courteous, the 
fare excellent and the cabins large and clean. The boat was 
so steady that it was necessary often to look out upon the shore 
to be certain it was moving. 

ALONG THE RIVER. 

The boat landed at all the important cities. Their names are 
Chinkiang, Woo Hoo, Kinkuiang, Nanking and Hankow. All 
are large cities of several hundred thousand inhabitants, and 
most of them are surrounded by walls. The scene on the shores 

(120) 



From Shanghai to Pekin. 121 



'to 



at landings is most animated. The river front resembles the levee 
at St. Louis, except that in place of the tumbledown old build- 
ings to be seen there is a line of handsome modern structures oc- 
cupied by consulates and custom ofifiicials. These streets along 
the river front are called Bunds. Thousands of Chinese 
swarm the banks and the river itself is full of all varieties of 
craft. At one place was the welcome spectacle of an United 
States man of war. 

The largest and most important city between Shanghai and 
Hankow is Nanking. The name means "Southern Capital," it 
having once been capital of China. Pekin, the present capital,. 
means "Northern Capital." Nanking has a population of over a 
million and is surrounded by a wall twenty miles long. It has 
several interesting temples and there are located near to it 
the tombs of former kings. The Northern Methodists have a 
large university and there are several other mission stations. 
The city is picturesquely situated in a valley surrounded by 
mountains, which at this season are covered with snow. The 
steamer is never out of sight of villages and frequently moun- 
tains loom up either near or at a distance from the shore. The 
spectacle of walls extending along the mountain sides or reach- 
ing to the summits and from one peak to another, while the 
cities they once enclosed have long since disappeared, are strik- 
ing reminders of the antiquity of the region through which the 
river flows. Every foot of ground is under constant cultivation. 
The river itself, Hke the Missouri, is treacherous, constantly 
shifting its channel, and it requires skill to successfully navi- 
gate it. 



122 Around the World. 

HANKOW. 

The city of Hankow is called "The Chicago of China." It is 
near the center of the empire, and is already the focus of its trade. 
It has the longest and most impressive bund or river frontage 
of any city in China. The long row of handsome buildings oc- 
cupied chiefly by consulates and floating the flags of many na- 
tions is truly inspiring. The sight of "old glory" is not the 
least of the attractions which greet the eye from the steamer, 
and make the itinerant American think of far away America 
and awaken pleasant sensations of home. The cordial greeting 
extended our party by Consul Martin and daughter and his as- 
sistant, Mr. Hull, was a genuine touch of American hospitality, 
and added to the homelike feeling awakened by the sight of the 
flag. The city has broad streets and many handsome business 
buildings and residences, besides several schools and churches. 
Across the river is Wuchang, where is located a large Episco- 
palian university and hospital, and separated by a creek or small 
river is Hanyang, where we were pleasantly entertained by Dr. 
J. S. Adams and family and Dr. G. A. Huntley of the Baptist 
Mission. They are conducting a flourishing mission station and 
hospital, the latter having a new and well-equipped building. 

Adjoining Hanyang is a high bluff, the sides of which are 
covered with graves and upon the summit is a Buddhist temple. 
The view of the three cities from this spot is one of 
the most inspiring we have seen anywhere in the 
world. They contain a combined population of nearly 
two millions. Within the limits of vision are all three 
cities, while for many miles the Yangtse and its tributaries and 
many lakes and valleys and long ranges of mountains are in 
view. We beheld this splendid panorama at sunset, and it left 



From Shanghai to Pekin. 123 

an impression which can not be effaced. We were delightfully 
entertained by Rev. Arthur Sherman and wnfe at their beautiful 
home. Mr. Sherman is rector of the Episcopal church and Mrs. 
Sherman is a daughter of Hon. Joshua Levering of Baltimore. 

FROM HANKOW TO PEKIN. 

For five years past an English and Belgian company has been 
operating a railroad between Hankow and Pekin. The distance 
is seven hundred miles and the direction from south to north. 
An express train runs through once a week and makes the trip in 
thirty hours. There are daily passenger trains which do not run 
at night, and are three days making the journey. The sleeping 
cars are divided into compartments and are fairly comfortable. 
Meals are served on the trains. The most important feature 
of the trip is the crossing of the Hoang-Ho or Yellow River, 
on which is claimed to be the longest bridge in the world. This 
and the Yangtse are the two great rivers of China^ but the 
Yellow is so wide and shallow and shifts its current so fre- 
quently that it is of but little value for purposes of navigation. 

With the exception of one range of mountains, not very high 
or wide, the entire distance is one dead level plain, an apparent 
mixture of soil and sand, but all under cultivation. Not a spray 
of grass and but a few trees relieve the monotony of what in this 
January season seems to be one dreary waste. But the inter- 
esting feature is a never-ending succession of w^alled cities, 
towns and villages, many of them but a few miles apart. At 
times three or more are in view at once. The buildings are al- 
most uniformly constructed of mud bricks and the people 
are very poor. Not a stately building of any kind is to be seen. 
Occasionally there is a pagoda or Buddhist temple. The cold 



124s Around the World. 

weather keeps the people in the cities, but the multiplicity of 
the latter is indication of the enormous population, I under- 
stand that the country is equally as thickly settled in all sec- 
tions of the empire. There are no rural dwellings. All the 
people live in the towns, whose walls are said to be necessary as a 
protection against robbers. There are no fences either here or 
anywhere in China. So far as we have seen America is the only 
country except England that has a comfortably established rural 
population. 

Everywhere are little mounds wherein are buried the dead. 
They are unmarked by stones and are located any and everywhere 
without reference to locality or convenience. The donkey and 
the water buffalo are the only visible beasts of burden, and they 
are diminutive specimens. There are no farm implements, ex- 
cept an occasional one-handled plow. Hoes and rakes are the 
solitary utensils of the farmer. The products are barley and 
wheat and cotton and rice. The latter is, however, not cultivated 
in Northern China as much as in other sections. 

CAMELS AND HORSES AND MULES. 

As we draw near to Pekin we have our first sight of a train 
of camels, which we see frequently in that city and farther North. 
They are patient, dull, lonesome looking quadrupeds and trudge 
along one after the other, a man walking in front, while each 
is led by a ring in his nose, the rope being attached to the camel 
in front, the man leading the front camel. They carry enormous 
burdens, and there may be seen in some places as many as three 
thousand in one train, all loaded with coal. The horses which also 
we begin to see as we draw nearer to Pekin are shabby, long- 
haired, scrubby specimens, and almost invariably pace instead of 



From Shanghai to Pekin. 125 

trot. We do not remember to have seen a first class horse since 
we left America. But the most interesting, welcome and famiUar 
"being we have met in North China is the old fashioned, genuine 
Missouri mule. We have looked in vain for him since we have 
reached the Orient, searched for him in Japan and all through 
Southern China, and when in the suburbs of Pekin he for the 
first time loomed in sight and we later heard his familiar bray, 
a regular old fashioned Missouri bray, we felt like embracing 
him as a long-lost brother. But we were destined to see much 
of him in Pekin, where he is seen by thousands hauling little 
two-wheeled carts or doing service under the saddle. 

RAILROADS. 

It seems strange that the ancient city of Pekin, which in our 
■country we regard as one of the most remote and inaccessible 
in the world, should be reached by railroad and in a palace car. 
But this suggests the interesting fact that in no respect has China 
made more progress than in the matter of railroads. Ten years 
ago in the whole country there was but one short railroad. 
Now there are between three and four thousand miles and these 
are being added to constantly. It will be but a few years before 
a railroad will be built from Hankow to Canton in the extreme 
South. It will then be possible to travel in one car from Pekin 
to Canton, from the North to the South, across the empire, nor 
will it be many years before there will be a railroad from the 
Western to the Eastern limits of the empire. Quite a contro- 
versy is in progress now as to whether the road shall be owned 
•and operated by foreigners or Chinese, and there is a slight dan- 
ger of serious trouble from this source, but the chances are that 
foreigners will finance and build them. It is plain that the 
Chinese must take many steps forward before they will be able 



126 Around the World. 

to handle enterprises on a large scale or can cope with foreign- 
ers in that respect. 

CUSTOMS. 

A curious illustration of the reliance of the natives upon for- 
eigners to handle big things is to be found in the fact that for 
nearly fifty years the entire customs service of the country has 
been under the supervision of one man, Sir Robert Hart, who 
controls forty stations for the collection of customs in the em- 
pire, all there are. Through them there are paid into the Chi- 
nese treasury annually over twenty-five millions of gold dollars. 
Sir Robert Hart is an English gentleman and resides in Peking. 
He came to China as a translator for an English consul at Hong- 
kong in the fifties. About 1859 ^ rebellion occurred which so 
disorganized the customs service that the foreign powers had to 
organize a method of collecting the revenue from this source in- 
dependently of the Chinese. Sir Robert was placed in charge 
of it and did his work so successfully that he has been continued 
in the place since. When foreign nations have since made loans 
to the Chinese government a condition imposed was that its pay- 
ment was to be guaranteed through the revenue from customs, 
and a further exaction was made that the customs service should 
be continued under the management of Sir Robert. It was well 
known that the Chinese themselves were not competent to handle 
it, and that if they attempted it their officials would steal nine- 
tenths of it. In this w^ay alone were they able to secure loans 
or guarantee their heavy indemnities after the Boxer troubles. 
Although a suspicious people they have full confidence in Sir 
Robert. I had the pleasure of calling upon this remarkable man 
in Pekin and in hearing from him a full history of his work in 
China. It has no parallel in the history of nations. 



XVIL 

PEKIN. 

Pekin, China, January 5, 1908. 
It is a habit of travelers to regard the last great thing they 
see the greatest. But I am sure I am not following this habit 
in pronouncing Pekin, or Peking as it is more frequently writ- 
ten, the most interesting city we have visited in the orient. The 
verdict is just from any standpoint. It is of great interest on 
account of its antiquity. It is doubtful if there is an older city 
in the world. Its history extends so far into the hazy ages of 
the past that it is not known how old it really is. The best 
authorities place its birth at four thousand years ago. But even 
if they add a trifle of a thousand to its age it is old enough 
to be regarded as one of the world's antiquities. It is one of 
the largest cities in the world, containing over three millions of 
people, and ranking with London and New York. It may have 
a larger population than either for it contains a multitude diffi- 
cult to number. It is the most curious city in the world. It 
has more diverse and singular types of people. It also occupies 
an unique place in history, present, past and future. 

THE GREAT WALL. 

The first object to engage the attention and excite the admir- 
ation of the visitor is the great wall which surrounds it. It has 
stood for thousands of years; but is as solid and well preserved 
as when first built. It is constructed of huge blocks of stone 
laid with remarkable skill and regularity and is forty-one feet 
high, sixty-two feet at base and fifty feet at top. We read of the 
ancients having chariot races and driving six chariots abreast 
on the walls of Babylon. This could be easily done on the walls 

(127) 



128 Around the World. 

of Pekin. The wall extends around the entire city and is lour- 
teen miles in length. It has numerous massive gates all of which 
are closed at sunset. 

These gates are most imposing. Some of them are surmounted 
by beautiful pagodas, but as the Chinese have a superstition that 
good spirits do not cross at a greater height than a hundred feet 
no pavilion surmounting the gates is over ninety-nine feet in 
height. The visitor is deeply impressed when he first enters one 
of these high gates, not only by the colossal proportions of the 
structure, but by the dense throng pouring through it, the 
mule carts, the rickshas, the trains of camels, the people riding 
donkeys and horses and mules and the enormous number of pe- 
destrians of every nationality and every costume in the world. 

THE CITY, ITS STREETS, HOUSES, ETC. 

Pekin is subdivided into three cities, the Tartar or main city 
in which dwell most of the population and where are all the bus- 
iness houses and dwellings and public buildings and temples, the 
Imperial City which contains the officials and the soldiers and 
those connected with the government, and the Forbidden City 
where are the Palaces of the Emperor and Empress Dowager. 
These latter are approached by a series of seven gates surmounted 
by lofty towers. The three cities are separated from each other by 
walls not so high as the main outer wall. The gates to the Im- 
perial and Forbidden City are strictly guarded from entrance 
by all except those permitted to dwell within them or who by 
special permit are allowed to enter them. The streets of the 
Tartar City are wider than those of any other Chinese city we 
have visited. Many of them are a hundred feet in wudth, meas- 
uring from the distance between the line of buildings. Most of 
them were thus widened after the Boxer trouble. Only the 




IN PEKIN-Chinese JVoman ^ith Small Feet-Empress Dozvager's Marble Boat- 
Touring Cart— A Prisoner—SeJan Chair— Temple 



Pekin. 129 

side streets are narrow. The streets are about fifty feet and 
the sidewalks twenty-five feet on either side. Both streets and 
sidewalks are built of macadam and are separated by open gut- 
ters or sewers. The business buildings or shops are nearly all 
of one story and the roofs are of tiling. All the business es- 
tablishments are small shops. There are no large business houses. 

THE LEGATIONS. 

The most attractive quarter is that set apart for the foreign 
legations. Most of these buildings have been erected since 1900 
when the Boxer uprising occurred, and were constructed out 
of the money from the indemnity funds exacted after that awful 
catastrophe. Most of the legation buildings were either de- 
stroyed or rendered unfit for occupancy as were the mission sta- 
tions and schools and much of the remainder of the city. These 
buildings are of grey brick and are built in hollow squares 
inside of walled areas or compounds. All of the great coun- 
tries of the world have buildings for their diplomatic corps. 
The American Legation has five large two-story structures. The 
largest is occupied by Mr. Rockhill, the minister, as a residence. 
One other is set apart for the business office. The other three 
are occupied by Mr. Fletcher, the First Secretary, Mr. Haskins, 
the Chinese Secretary and Mr. Fred M. Dearing, the Second 
Secretary of Foreign affairs, each of these gentlemen having a 
separate residence. Our party were the guests of Mr. Dearing 
in his beautiful home, and we could not have been more pleasantly 
situated. His residence is handsomely furnished and he has a 
corps of excellent servants. We shall count our stay of five 
days with him as one of the most delightful experiences of our 
tour around the world. He is filling his position with great ef- 
ficiency and is popular with all the other delegations. No foreign 
representative in Pekin is more highly esteemed. Our party also 
9 



130 Around the World. 

had the pleasure of dining with Sir John and Lady Jordan, the 
British minister and his wife, and were entertained at beautiful 
functions by the German and Russian ministers. There is a fine 
social life among those engaged in the diplomatic service, and 
the round of gayeties is unceasing. Soldiers' barracks are at- 
tached to most of the legations, where some fifteen hundred sol- 
diers have been kept since the Boxer troubles. They also add 
to the social life. 

TEMPLES. 

Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are the prevailing re- 
ligions of China. Confucianism has not until of late years been 
regarded a religion. Confucius was simply a philosopher and 
never claimed to be a deity. But recently he has been worship- 
ped as a god, and it is understood that the government has 
issued an edict commending his philosophy as a religion. Taoism 
is a worship of ancestors. But Buddhism is universally regarded 
as the Chinese religion and Buddha is worshipped as Christians 
worship Christ. What the religion stands for no one seems 
to definitely understand. It is a mingling of philosophy and su- 
perstition, and most of its adherents have no clearly defined con- 
ception of it beyond a mere idolatrous superstition. There are 
said to be ten thousand temples erected to these different relig- 
ions, chiefly Buddhist, in Pekin. Most of them are only little 
shrines. There are but three important structures dedicated to 
heathen worship which attract the attention of visitors. One of 
these is the large Confucian and the other are Buddhist temples. 
To describe them would hardly be possible. They are elaborate 
and ancient, but both impress the visitor as degenerating into 
disuse and decay. Erected at enormous expense and represent- 
ing an ancient and beautiful type of architecture they are in- 



Pekin. 131 

teresting from a historic and architectural standpoint, but the 
most important lesson they teach in their dingy walls and im- 
ages, their broken doors and general appearance of neglect is 
that the superstitious idolatry for which they stand has lost its 
hold upon the people and that they are patronized only by the 
ignorant and degraded. A few wretched beggars and mendi- 
cants hang about them, wresting such money as they can out 
of visitors, and there is an absolute lack of any reverence. on 
the part of the attendants, no more than would be exhibited for a 
theater or a junk shop. I came away from them with the con- 
viction that idolatrous worship no longer has a hold upon the 
intelligent and self-respecting Chinese. 

THE MISSION CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 

In striking contrast with the dilapidated and neglected heathen 
temples are the bright, flourishing and up-to-date Christian 
churches, chapels and schools to be found in various sections of 
the cit3^ There are six large and successfully conducted mis- 
sion compounds, the American, London, Presbyterian, Metho- 
dist, Episcopal and Catholic missions. There is also a Union 
Medical Hospital, in which all the evangelical denominations join 
and a successful Y. M. C. A. to which Mr. John Wanamaker of 
Philadelphia has given $50,000 for a building. In the American 
Mission several denominations, Methodist, Congregational, Bap- 
tist and possibly others join. There is a large and well attended 
girls' school connected with the American Mission under Miss 
Minor, formerly of America. This mission has next to the finest 
church building in China. I attended a service at it led by a Chi- 
nese Presbyterian elder at which there were five hundred Chi- 
nese. The services were intelligently conducted and there was a 



132 Around the World. 

spirit of profound devotion. I enjoyed very much meeting Dr. 
Ament and Mr. Stelle of this mission and spent an enjoyable 
hour with Dr. and Mrs. Young there. 

The Presbyterian Mission under Dr. Martin, who for over 
fifty years has been a Christian leader in China, is doing a fine 
work. There are also boys' and girls' schools attached to the 
mission. The largest mission station and schools are those con- 
ducted by the Northern American Methodists. They cover twen- 
ty-seven acres of ground and have buildings which in America 
would be easily worth a million of dollars. The mission has hand- 
some church building and colleges attended by five hundred boys 
and two hundred girls. Dr. H. H. Lowry is the president, ably 
assisted by Prof. John M. Gibb, who kindly showed us through 
this splendid institution. Its name is the Peking University. I 
was greatly impressed by the fine equipment both of the girls' 
school at the American Mission and the two schools at the Meth- 
odist compound. I looked in on the classes during recitation, 
and there was an atmosphere of intelligence and capability on the 
part of professors and students that would compare favorably 
with similar institutions in our own land. Those in charge spoke 
in terms of the warmest hopefulness of their work. They express 
themselves as confident that the day is not distant when there will 
be a widespread religious and educational awakening in China. 
They declare this has already come, and that China will before 
many years be as strongly Christian as it is now heathen. 

INTERVIEWS WITH DISTINGUISHED CHINESE OFFICIALS. 

Through the effort of the American Legation and by letters 
of introduction I had the pleasure and honor of interviews with 
Yuan-Shih-Kai of the foreign office and Lu Hai Huan, head of 



Pekin. 133 

customs. Next to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor no 
two officials of China stand higher. Yiian-Shih-Kai is recognized 
the world over as the most forceful personality in China. He 
has progressive ideas and has done much to improve the edu- 
cational and civil service systems of the empire. He received me 
courteously and talked freely. He declared that the government 
was not unfriendly to Christianity and that Christian missionaries 
would be protected. He recognized their good work and de- 
clared that along with all other religions Christianity would have 
full opportunity for reaching the people. He evidently believes 
in the largest religious freedom. Lu Hai Huan expressed similar 
views and added that he knew that the Empress Dowager cherish- 
ed kindly sentiments towards foreigners. Both declared their op- 
position to opium and foot-binding and a desire for a higher ed- 
ucation of their people. The distinct impression left upon my 
mind from these interviews with these two representative Chinese 
leaders is that the Chinese government, whatever it may have 
been in the past, is now friendly to Christianity. 

VISIT TO THE SUMMER PALACE. 

The day succeeding these interviews our party had the unus- 
ual honor of receiving an invitation to visit the summer palace 
of the Empress Dowager and Emperor ten miles outside the 
walls. We were furnished an especial military escort and arriv- 
ing at the palace found a battalion of one hundred soldiers drawn 
up in line in our honor. Nowhere in any land have we seen any- 
thing more beautiful than this palace. Its architecture is elabo- 
rate and gorgeous. Picturesquely located upon a high hill over- 
looking a beautiful artificial lake, adorned by handsome arcades, 
marble balustrades and tropical plants, a splendid pagoda and 



134 Around the World. 

temple crowning it all it is a poem of beauty, or as it is called 
"a harmony of wood and water." We were given a sumptuous 
luncheon in the Empress' marble boat upon the lake and the 
event was delightful throughout. 

ALTAR AND TEMPLE OF HEAVEN. 

The most interesting sight in Pekin is the Altar and Temple 
of Heaven. It is one of the wonders of the world. It is located 
in a large park, surrounded by a wall three miles long. The 
altar itself is of pure marble, is open to the sky and is about 
twenty-five feet high and 210 feet in diameter at the base. It 
is three stories and is reached by three series of steps. At each 
landing is a narrow terrace or court, and a marble balustrade. 
At the top is a space 90 feet in diameter over which is a m.arble 
slab resting upon an elevated platform, before which the Emperor 
prostrates himself in prayer at midnight three times a year, just 
before Christmas, when he returns thanks, the first month in the 
Chinese year, when he is supposed to receive his mission as a 
ruler for the year, and again early in the spring, when he prays 
for rain and a good harvest. The altar itself sits inside a large 
inclosure, surrounded by a wall in which is a brick furnace where 
oxen are burned as sacrifices. This furnace is reached by a 
flight of green porcelain steps. There are also several large 
iron braziers in this area wherein are burnt offerings of silk 
and paper, all death decrees being burned there. 

Several hundred yards from the altar is the Temple of Heaven, 
a beautiful structure where the Emperor concludes his worship. 
The people are not admitted to the Altar or Temple, only the 
royal family and their attendants having access to it. The altar 
and the large area around it, the series of courts in ascent to it, 



Pekin. 135 

the sacrifice of the animals, and the iron braziers, are very Hke 
the ancient altars, and incense, and sacrifices of the Jews. The 
area recalls the court about the tabernacle and the space around 
Solomon's Temple. There are the same courts, on a smaller 
scale, which were in the approach to the temples of Solomon, 
Zerubbabel and Herod and the prayers of the Emperor for the 
people is in striking analogy to the intercession of the Israelitish 
priests as described in the Old Testament Scriptures. 

Near by is the Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor goes 
to worship after leaving the altar. This worship of the Emperor 
is said to be the most ancient ritual in the world. Whether this 
be true or not there can be no doubt of its antiquity. But the 
intercessory prayer, the sacrifice of the ox, the shedding of blood, 
the name of Heaven, the brazier of incense, the succession of 
small courts as the ascent is made to the top of the altar and 
finally the temple itself are remarkably similar to the Hebrew 
Temple and worship, and are suggestive of the atonement con- 
tained in the scheme of salvation prototyped by ancient Israel 
and fulfilled in Christ. Who knows but that heathenism de- 
scended from the same origin as Christianity, of which it is but 
a hideous perversion? Or can it be that these heathen rites are 
attempts to copy those of the Hebrews? 

CHINESE AND MODERN LEARNING. 

In no one respect is China showing more progress than the 
rapidity with which in many places it is supplanting the old Con- 
fucian schools with those of modern type. The former schools 
were devoted only to the study of the Confucian classics, the 
memorizing of ancient effete maxims from Confucius, the effect 
of which was of no practical value in the development of the 



136 Around the World. 

mind or for the purposes of either pubHc or private life. The 
single qualification of a public official was that he should be an 
encyclopedia of Confucian philosophy, regardless of the fact that 
it was of no possible value to him in his office. The effect was to 
abnormally develop memory and dwarf the reasoning powers. 
Hence the people are but mere children. Many of them, espec- 
ially the women, are densely ignorant. But few have any learning 
of any kind. But they take kindly to Western learning, many 
of them are apt students and the prospect now is that it will not 
be many years before they will be a well educated people. 



XVIII. 

THE GREAT WALL, THE EMPRESS DOWAGER AND OTHER 
CHINESE CURIOS. 

Shanghai Kuan, China, January lo, 1908. 
I write this within sight of the great Chinese wall. It is less 
than a half mile distant and I have just returned from a walk upon 
it. The wall starts at this point, which is on the Gulf Pechilli, and 
it runs fifteen hundred miles west. Like all things Chinese it is 
ancient, how ancient no one knows definitely, but it has probably 
been here two thousand years ; it may be three thousand or even 
longer. It is said to have been built two hundred years before 
the Christian era. At this point it is about thirty feet wide at the 
base and twenty feet at the top, and is thirty feet high. Its 
dimensions vary at different points. It consists of two walls, 
three feet thick each and filled in between with dirt and stone. 
These walls are built of stone or cement cut into regular sizes 
of about fifteen inches in length, seven in breadth and three in 
thickness. They are laid in cement and the work is well done. 
It is not so high or well built as the wall around Pekin, but is 
remarkably preserved and is a great piece of engineering. It 
is built at places in zig-zag shape and there are towers at 
stated intervals which were used as forts. At other places there 
are parallel walls constructed as double protection. Apparently 
it represents an immense waste of energy, judging from the stand- 
point of modern conditions. But it must be remembered that it 
was a necessary protection in those barbarous ancient days and 

(137) 



138 Around the World. 

it is the most significant monument in the world of the davs 
of cruelty and bloodshed now gone forever. While wholly useless 
the law forbids its demolition, as the Chinese prefer to retain 
it as a relic of the past. It is not even of use as a boundary any 
longer as the Chinese territory now extends a thousand miles 
farther north. We have seen no one thing that so impressed us 
with its antiquity, or which is such a link to the remote ages of 
the past. 

EMPRESS DOWAGER.* 

The other great object of interest in China is the Empress 
Dowager. She is even of more interest, for she is alive and doing 
things, while the wall has served its purpose. While in Pekin 
I had opportunities of learning at close range some interesting 
facts concerning this remarkable old lady. It is doubtful if there 
is a sovereign in the world who is an object of greater interest 
or who wields such power. T learned from officials close to her 
and who have constant official relations that there is no doubt 
but that she is the dominant personality in the empire. Her 
word is law not only for the five hundred millions over whom 
she reigns, but for the big officials who constitute her court or 
advisers. There is a privy council of eight or twelve who have 
charge of the various departments of the government, who for- 
mulate its laws and control all its propaganda, who stand at 
once for the Presidential Cabinet, Congress and Supreme Court 
of our country. But she is over them all, and to her fiat they 
must bow. When they enter her presence they fall upon their 



*The Empress has died since this was written. 



The Great Wall and Other Chinese Curios. 139 

knees and while in this suppliant attitude make all their com- 
munications or present their memorials and prayers. One of the 
■ifaiggest of these officials told me that his limbs at times were 
nearly paralyzed while in this prayerful position, but he dared 
not rise until she in mercy bade him do so. .She has a strong grasp 
upon public affairs and her superior ability is as well recognized 
as her official authority. She has facial paralysis, and appears to 
he frowning upon one side of her face, while she is laughing upon 
the other. She is fond of apples and has a pile of them on a 
table before her as she sits upon the throne. By her side upon 
a lower seat usually sits the little emperor, looking meek and 
bored, a mere negative quantity. She has a passion for dogs. 
There are several hundred of the pug variety in the palace, and 
now and then she gives them away to friends. 

A gentleman with whom I dined showed me several which she 
had sent him. She has receptions but rarely, but is said to be 
quite gracious. A lady, the wife of a United States consul, gave 
me an interesting account of attending one of her receptions in 
which she discussed freely the Boxer insurrection. She declared 
that her action towards foreigners at that time was based upon 
misinformation, that she thought that the foreigners were the 
aggressors. She expresses now the kindliest feeling to foreigners. 

THE GOVERNMENT^ PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE. 

It seems incredible that a country so vast in territory and 
population should be ruled by an old woman in her dotage. It 
is evident that there is a condition of unrest, and that a dis- 
memberment of the nation into independent states is not a remote 
improbability. Several of the eighteen provinces are exhibiting 



140 Around the World. 

a discontent that may break out at any time. The arrant physical 
cowardice of the people is the sole protection against national 
dissolution. There could not be a greater absurdity than the Chi- 
nese soldier. There is nothing chivalrous or soldierly about him. 
The Japanese put the soldier first in the scale of social distinction. 
The Chinese put him last, the business man next, the farmer next, 
the laborer next and the scholar highest. This is a good order 
for a peaceful, but not for a patriotic people who love liberty and 
progress. With the increase of schools and the spread of intelli- 
gence there will no doubt be an augmenting demand for a rep- 
resentative government. But even Yuan-Shih-Kai, the nation's 
most progressive statesman, does not regard the people prepared 
for the franchise and so declared to me in a personal interview to 
which reference has been made in a previous letter. But notwith- 
standing all this the way things are moving there may be expected 
a breaking up of the present governmental conditions in China in 
the near future. 

THE r.OXERS. 

One hears much of the terrible Boxer massacres in 1900. Their 
horrors could not be exaggerated. Pekin, Tien-Tsin and north- 
east China seem to have been the center of them in their worst 
form. The condition of the foreign population and their Chinese 
sympathizers during the two or three months of the siege in 
Pekin and Tien-Tsin was terrible. Some twenty-five hundred or 
more were confined in the British and American legations in 
Pekin and were in daily expectation of destruction. The walls of 
the compounds were battered with cannon balls daily and the in- 
terior was constantly bombarded with shells. Many were killed 



The Great Wall and Other Chinese Curios. 141 

and wounded and all were brought to a point of starvation. A 
gentleman who was one of the besieged, told me that eighty-six 
mules and horses were eaten as food. The conditions were even 
worse at Tien-Tsin and thousands were tortured, murdered and 
mangled in all parts of the empire. But good has come of even a 
catastrophe so terrible. The heavy indemnity exacted of the gov- 
ernments enabled the legations and missionaries to rebuild their 
houses in much better and more convenient form, while the streets 
of the cities were widened and improved so that at least Tien-Tsin 
and Pekin were made to look like modern cities. But the most 
beneficial results were to open the eyes of the Chinese and to 
bring them into a more wholesome respect for foreigners. For 
a long time there had been a growing hostility to the foreign pop- 
ulation which had to culminate in blood. But it is hardly possible 
for it to occur again. While the Chinese do not love foreigners 
they now fear them, and their leaders realize the fearful mistake 
thev made in encouraging the outbreak. They will hardly again 
attempt it. 

THE FOREIGNERS. 

The visitor is favorably impressed by the foreign residents he 
meets in China. As a rule they are men of a high order. It is a 
condition of the survival of the fittest. All the lower walks are 
filled by Chinese. The only place for the foreigner is at the top. 
A gentleman quite familiar with the subject said to me that 
while the Chinese are industrious they are not qualified for places 
of leadership or for positions requiring administrative capacity. 
Hence while there are occasionally to be found wealthy Chinese 
and scholars and strong characters, the great business establish- 
ments, the railroads, the colleges, the large hotels and all the 



142 Around the World. 

great enterprises are almost exclusively owned and managed by 
foreigners. There is some jealousy on the part of the Chinese^ 
but it is not probable that the foreigners will be dispossessed. 
Great fortunes have been and will be made in China, and there is- 
a future here for men of merit from other lands along all lines. 
A strange fact is that notwithstanding the isolation of the life for- 
eigners seem satisfied and few express a desire to return to their 
native lands. 

SHORT ON WOMEN. 

China is long on foreign men. They outnumber the women 
many times. Some good missionary ought to start several thou- 
sand American girls this way. Bachelors are here galore. Most 
of them would like to marry, but it is so expensive to go home for 
a wife; and there is such doubt as to them getting one when they 
go that they have abandoned hope. I have seen more handsomely 
fitted up bachelor dens here than anywhere I have been. Many of 
them are fine gentlemen, and it seems a pity seeing how they are 
going to waste. Some of them have grown desperate and have 
written home for girls they left behind them and the girls have 
responded and have come over and married here, and happy lives 
are the result. But this is not always practicable. The subject is 
a serious one. For instance in Pekin there are but two or three 
marriageable girls and scores of marriageable men. The same is 
true in Shanghai and elsewhere. I do not know what is to be 
done unless our government does as the Romans did, ship out 
wives to supply the want, 

TIEN-TSIN. 

Leaving Pekin we came to Tien-Tsin, some hundred miles to 
the northeast and spent one day there. It is the most modern city 



The Great Wall and Other Chinese Curios. 143 

we have seen in China. Its wide streets and large business build- 
ings and hotels and its clubs and churches make one feel he is in 
an up-to-date American city. It contains several hundred thou- 
sand people, of whom about five thousand are foreigners and are 
as elsewhere taking the lead in all departments of business. 
Were we seeking a home in China there is no city which would 
present greater attractions. We are indebted to the American 
consul, Mr. Ragsdale, for courtesies during our visit, and also to 
Mr. Sheppard, of the Jardine-Matheson steamship line. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

There is no better illustration of the progress China has made 
of late years than that contamed in the growth of the number 
of its newspapers. Ten years ago there were not over twenty-five 
in the entire empire. Now there are probably two hundred and 
fifty and the number is continually growing. Up to the time of 
the Boxer trouble the old Pekin Gazette, the oldest paper in the 
world, was the only newspaper in Pekin. Now there are twenty, 
among them the only woman's daily newspaper in the world. 
And a remarkable fact is that they have great circulation. The 
people have developed into a nation of newspaper readers. The 
papers are intelligently edited and well filled with local and tel- 
egraphic news. 

CHINESE CUISIn4 

Several causes conspire to make the fare in the better home in 
China especially tempting. As cooks the Chinese can not be sur- 
passed — except by the southern negroes — and they are equally as 
capable in serving at table and in all departments of the home. 
The Chinese servant is something ideal. He not only is a good 



144 Around the World. 

manager, taking in his own hand full supervision of the domestic 
affairs of the house, even to purchasing the groceries and cook- 
ing and serving and doing every imaginable necessary thing aoout 
the home, but he is reliable and does not have to be told. He re- 
sents any interference or help on the part of the head of the house. 
All household affairs are delegated to him, and his faithfulness 
knows no limit. One gentleman in Shanghai told me that he had 
a cook who has been with him twenty-two years, and another 
has been with his master, as he gladly calls him, even longer. 
They are but two, of many others. Such servants are fixtures 
and a joy forever. 

China is a great game country. Wild duck, geese, pheasant, 
wild hog, deer, are in abundance — of these the pheasant is entitled 
to front rank. It is the most delicious fowl known and is found 
in abundance. The tables of the well-to-do simply "groan," to 
use an American expression, with every vegetable and meat, 
while the desserts are of wide range and excellent. There is no 
country in the world where food is more tempting or service bet- 
ter. It is enough to set wild the American housekeeper so 
sorely put to the trouble to find enough to supply her table 
from the meager markets and so beset with incompetent servants. 



XIX. 
CHINA AND THINGS CHINESE. 

TsiNGTAU, China, January 15, 1908. 

The one thing about China which most impresses the tourist 
is its magnitude. Take as an illustration this trip into the in- 
terior which we are just finishing and about which I have already 
written you in three letters. It has consumed nearly three weeks, 
and has covered a circuit of twenty-four hundred miles, as far 
as from St. Louis to New Orleans, thence to El Paso and back 
again to St. Louis. Yet this area, in which reside over a hun- 
dred millions of people, is not one-eighth the territory of China. 
The country simply swarms with people, not the country, for there 
is no rural population, but the cities, for they are without limit. 
But it is a remarkably industrious population. Rarely is there to 
be seen an idle Chinaman. They work incessantly all day and far 
into the night. I never have awakened at night that I have not 
heard the hum of their voices or the clatter of their carts in the 
streets. 

In all the millions of Chinese I have seen I have not observed 
a drunken one. The captain of the steamer upon which this is 
written tells me that in twenty-five years among them he has 
never seen one under the influence of liquor. Such a thing as a 
Chinese saloon is unknown. Nor have I seen a street brawl or 
fight. I am also inclined to think that the reputed use of opium 
is exaggerated. If it is indulged in there is little manifestation 
of it upon the surface. Nor is there evidence of great social im- 
morality. The Chinese women are modest and well-behaved. 
They are not often seen in public. The purity of the social system 

(145) 

10 



146 Around the World. 

in China is higher than in Japan. It can also be said of the 
Chinese that they are faithful. As subordinates they are trust- 
worthy and, as has been said in previous letters, are unsurpassed 
as servants. A nation of five hundred millions, industrious, moral, 
faithful, v^ith an area double that of the United States is no mean 
proposition to be reckoned with. 

Those nations which have set eyes of greed upon her, looking 
to her apportionment, are hardly likely to realize their ambition. 
The countries which have exhibited this covetous spirit are Ger- 
many, Russia and France. Those which have discountenanced 
and opposed it are England and America. The Chinese under- 
stand those nations which would despoil them of their country 
and those who would not. The whole scheme is as wicked as it 
is chimerical. Ultimately the Caucasian race will possess the 
earth, but it will not be by force. It will be by the peaceful and 
resistless march of Christian civilization. If it is attempted by 
grasping methods there will result the bloodiest war of history in 
which it will be the yellow race against the white, and success 
will not be to the aggressor, for these people will die before the}- 
will yield. There is no room for more population here, and it 
would mean starvation to dispossess those who have right to the 
land by reason of thousands of years ownership. 

AN ILLUSTRATION OF GERMAN GREED, 

The city from whose port this is written, Tsingtau, is an illustra- 
tion of the selfish purpose of one nation to get a foothold in China. 
Ten years ago on account of the murder of two missionaries, 
Germany forcibly wrested a large area at this point, and began the 
building" of a city and of an army and naval station. She ha? ex- 
pended since that time over ten millions of dollars in constructing 



China and Things Chinese. 147 

a harbor, in government buildings, in soldiers' barracks, in streets 
and storehouses, until there is here now a modern city, with wide 
streets, splendid buildings, hotels, business houses, residences and 
one of the most expensive harbors in the world. The government 
is still expending three millions upon the streets, harbors and pub- 
lic buildings annually. There are two thousand foreigners, three 
thousand soldiers and probably ten thousand Chinese. 

One can scarcely trust his senses when he beholds such a city 
in the very heart of China. The work of improvement and forti- 
fication goes steadily on. There is but one explanation, and that 
is that Germany is preparing to get such a footing in China that 
at the opportune time she may strike for a much larger conquest. 
In fact this purpose is not concealed. It is well understood, and 
by none better than the Chinese themselves. The French are 
attempting something of the same kind at Saigon on the south- 
east coast and the Russians have for many years been aggressors 
upon Chinese territory, but since they were so badly worsted by 
Japan they have not been in condition to be meddling in oriental 
affairs. England owns a large area in the South near Hong Kong 
and Japan sleeps ever with one eye open upon China. In the 
meantime China looks to America as her friend to ward off 
these efforts to ruin her. The Avisdom of our policy of noninter- 
ference will surely bear fruit. 

CLIMATE AND LATITUDE. 

The Chinese sea coast is 3,000 miles in length. It extends from 
the frigid to the tropical zone. We had an experience with 
the cold end at Pekin, where the winds at times were piercing, 
but most of the time the temperature was pleasant and bracing. 
We were warned against that city, that we would freeze unless 



148 Around the World. 

we arrayed ourselves in arctic clothing, none of which we had. 
With characteristic American trepidation we went wearing our 
ordinary Missouri wraps and did not suffer, a fact which was 
explained to an extent when we discovered that Pekin is upon 
the exact line of latitude of Missouri. 

ALONG THE SEA COAST. 

I last wrote from the eastern terminus of the great Chi- 
nese wall, where it starts at the sea and runs fifteen hundred 
miles westward. We have since then been sailing southward 
down the bay of Pechilli and the Yellow Sea towards Shanghai. 
The steamship travel in China is excellent, but our party 
seems to be almost the only passengers. On the last three 
trips we have made by water, from Japan to China, from 
Shanghai to Hankow, and now back to Shanghai there have 
been but three or four others on board. Either we are 
traveling out of season or there are few tourists, but in either 
event, we are fortunate, for the experience is delightful to have a 
steamship all to yourself, especially when the Captains and officers 
are as courteous and the fare and accommodations are as excellent 
as they have been upon these steamers. There is a great advan- 
tage in traveling in avoiding the crowd. Our first stop was at 
Chefoo. The sea was so rough and the day so bad that we could 
not land, but we were called upon by Rev. Pe}1;on Stephens, wife 
and little son, and enjoyed several hours very pleasantly with 
them. He is the son of the late Dr. T. L. Stephens, of Stephens 
Store, Callaway county, Missouri, and a nephew of Mr. W. A. 
Bright, of Columbia, and is well known in Missouri. He has 
been a Baptist missionary for the past fifteen years and has been 
quite successful. His wife, a cultivated Christian woman, assists 



China and Things Chinese. 149 



/ 



him in his work and both are contented and happy. They own a 
nice home of some eight acres, and are most hospitable and 
friendly to visitors. Chefoo is quite a silk manufacturing center. 
There is located there a fine mission college at which the children 
of missionaries and others are educated. These mission stations 
are everywhere in China. Dr. Robert Morrison, correspondent 
of the London Times, and one of the ablest and best known men 
in the orient, said to the writer in Pekin, that he had visited nearly 
every province in China and that he did not believe it was pos- 
sible to travel for one week in any direction in the empire with- 
out encountering a mission station. The missionaries have prac- 
tically covered the country, and no one can visit their stations 
without being convinced that they are doing a great work in edu- 
cating and Christianizing the people. 

THE MANCHUS. 

Before I get too far away from northern China, I want to say 
something of a class of people we saw there who interested us 
greatly. It was the Manchus. Centuries ago they conquered the 
Chinese in a war, and the latter have been shaving their heads 
and wearing pigtails and paying tribute to them on that account 
ever since. They resemble the Chinamen as to color and facial ap- 
pearance, but the men are larger and of course do not wear 
queues. But the distinguishing and striking portion of their pop- 
ulation is their women. They dress gorgeously and paint tlieir 
faces with a brilliancy of white and red which would make a wax 
doll ashamed of itself. Their deep vermillion which they spread 
over their cheeks contrasting with the dead white on the remain- 
der of their face not only removes all expression from their 
countenances but gives them a most grotesque appearance. To 



150 Around the World. 

add to the peculiar effect they paint their lower lips a brilliant 
cherry red. No other women in the world are so reckless and 
prodigal in the use of cosmetics. They have a profusion of black 
hair and wear a high head dress decorated with flowers which 
is not without an element of taste, being quite ''becoming/' as the 
ladies say. The Manchu women are larger than their Chinese 
.«;isters and do not have the almond eye or the peculiar Chinese ex- 
pression, nor do they bind their feet. They look like a stronger 
people intellectually and physically than the Chinese. 

HOW THE CHINESE LIVE. 

This country is full of books on Chinese life. No two of them 
are alike and they contain so many improbable stories of the home 
life and habits of the people that we have found few of them 
worth while. The country is so big and the population so great 
that the differences in the habits of life are as many as the sec- 
tions of the country. There are about a hundred dialects spoken. 
People in one province or city can not understand those w^ho are 
their nearest neighbors. A Cantonese has no more understanding 
of a Pekin Chinaman's language than he has of English. There are 
some things the lower classes all have in common. One of these 
is filth. No language can describe the low Chinaman's home. 
Therefore we shall not attempt it. In the south the people live on 
rice and beans and other vegetables. In the north their food is 
chiefly millet and sorghum and vegetables. These form the sta- 
ple products of the farm. 

They have few if any fires in their houses. They protect 
themselves from the cold by dressing warmly, wearing often two 
and three suits of clothes. Their beds are of mud, walled up 
with brick upon which they place a straw matting. They do their 



China and Things Chinese. 151 



^& 



cooking in very large ovens. In the home the man is the monarch, 
the woman a slave. She is a mere drudge and has few opportuni- 
ties of a social or educational nature. When the men have feasts 
women are not invited or expected. The Chinese know nothing 
of social life as we Americans do, such as parties, receptions and 
like functions. Marriages are regulated by the parents, the bride 
and groom not being consulted, and the groom often does not see 
his bride until he meets her on the wedding day when she is 
brought to him in a Sedan chair closely concealed until she can- 
not get a ray of light or breath of air, and she often faints and 
sometimes dies on the way. As in Japan the mother-in-law has 
full control of the daughter-in-law. 

FUNERAL CEREMONIES AND BURIAL. 

A Chinese funeral is an imposing affair. In Pekin I noticed 
along the streets, large red cars, brilliantly painted, with long 
poles extending in front and behind, and was told they were 
hearses for the dead. Afterwards I met them in processions on 
the streets preceded by men carrying banners and beating on 
musical instruments and singing. In some places the corpse re- 
mains in the house for a week, during which there is constant 
feasting. They wear white, not black for mourning. They will 
often not bury a corpse for man}- days, awaiting for a "lucky day" 
upon which to inter it. In Canton there is what is called a dead 
house where bodies have lain for years awaiting a lucky day and 
place for burial. Lights are burning near by and occasionally 
the friends of the deceased meet there and have feasts. 

If the deceased is rich they place enough money in his coffin 
to defray his expenses through purgatory and to his final place of 
rest and happiness. If he is poor they put silver colored paper cut 



152 Ai'ound the World. 

into the shape of money in the coffin. The bodies of those who die 
must be buried if possible upon the land upon which they were 
born, and when this cannot be done at the time of death the 
body must be removed there as soon as practicable. When it is 
being moved a basket containing a large white rooster is carried 
along to frighten off evil spirits. If after one dies it is discovered 
that he has been guilty of a crime his body is disinterred and his 
head is cut off so that he cannot live hereafter. They have a su- 
perstition that people enter the next life in the same physical state 
in which they leave this one. While all this is superstitious it 
shows that they have an idea of immortality. 

THEIR FOOD AND DIGESTION. 

Foreigners do not dare eat vegetables raised by Chinese or the 
flour ground in their mills unless it has passed examination. 
Their methods of fertilization and their diseases and habits are 
such as to render it poisonous to others than themselves, but they 
appear to be immune against it. They grind grit and divers 
substances in their flour, which renders it dangerous to for- 
eigners. There are many other things Chinese, but this Is enough 
for the present. 



XX. 

HONG KONG AND CANTON. 

Hong Kong^ China, January 30, 1908. 
Among other discoveries which the Missourian who travels 
abroad makes and which render him satisfied with his place of res- 
idence is that he finds he is acclimated for any kind of weather 
which other countries have to furnish. However wide the ex- 
tremes of temperature or however sudden the changes they have 
no effect upon him. He is equal to them all. I have just had a 
practical demonstration. Two weeks ago I wrote you from within 
a half mile of the great wall of China, where the cold was pierc- 
ing and a heavy fur cap and the warm.est clothing were needed in 
order to make a pedestrian tour along the top of the wall. Since 
that time we have traveled sixteen hundred miles south to where 
it has been necessary to exchange furs for light linen and Ave 
find ourselves as equal to one condition as we were to the other. 
We were warned against that region on account of its cold and 
also against this because of its heat. And yet the one was not as 
cold and the other is not as hot as we have experienced in Mis- 
souri. Thus more and more as we go around the world do we 
find illustration of the cosmopolitanism of Missouri. We are 
growing very tired of the stale and senseless saying which some 
idiot started that the Missourian has to be shown. As a matter 
of fact he can show more things of more kinds to more people 
than can any other man. 

HONG KONG. 

I think I said in a previous letter that I had resolved in these 
letters to expurgate all superlatives. But we reach places now and 

(153) 



154 Around the World. 

then where this is hard to do. Hong Kong is one of these places. 
A just description of it is hardly possible without the use of 
adjectives. From what we had read and heard we had formed a 
faint conception of its picturesque beauty, but even a vivid imag- 
ination can not do it justice. It is without an equal so far as our 
observation extends in any harbor in the world. If we see any- 
thing to surpass it as we go around we will say so, but we do not 
believe we will. It lies upon a bay or inlet thirteen miles from the 
ocean. The approach is between mountain ranges clad in green 
and strikingly beautiful, not unlike Lake George and the Inland 
Sea of Japan. The harbor itself is incomparably beautiful. The 
city lies at the base, upon the sides and on the summit of a lofty 
range of cliffs over two thousand feet in height, and presents a 
picture from the steamer of artificial and natural attractiveness 
that is unique. The splendid buildings which line in successive 
parterres the mountain side and crown its summits, all with broad 
verandas and a multiplicity of windows, the profusion of verdure, 
the deep blue of the water in the harbor, the myriads of ships and 
smaller craft in every coloring and from every nation in the world, 
and the back ground of lofty mountains make a scene that no art- 
ist's pencil could well exaggerate. 

But to get a still more enchanting view one must ascend to the 
summit of the cliff or mountain and obtain a view of the har- 
bor and the city and the adjacent mountains. One of our party 
made the apt remark that it is a combination of Honolulu and the 
Grand Canyon. The streets are wide and clean and the buildings 
massive and handsome. There are few cities anywhere so well 
built. Its population is largely foreign, it being a British city, but 
the Chinese are here in immense number, a large part of the city 
being occupied by them entirely. There are numerous govern- 



Hongkong and Canton. 155 

ment buildings, and many schools and colleges, and the city has 
every aspect of progress and modern life. It is not in China, but 
a part of British territory. 

THE BOAT POPULATION. 

A curious feature of the city, common however to all oriental 
ports, is the large part of its population which dwells upon the 
water. The harbor swarms with skiffs, or, as they call them here 
"sampans," in which dwell families of from two to ten persons 
each. How they live in them is a miracle. But they eat, sleep 
and earn their livelihood in the small compass of these little craft, 
which are not of greater size than the ordinary Missouri river 
skiff. They even raise pigs and chickens as well as children on 
them, do their cooking and laundering and incredible as it may 
seem drink the water from the bay which is the receptacle also of 
all the sewerage of the city. It is said that not less than fifty 
thousand people live in these little boats. In Canton, eighty miles 
distant, it is estimated that there are over twenty-five thousand 
of these boats in which reside over a hundred thousand people. 
But the condition of the boat inhabitants is said to be more cleanly 
and comfortable than that of millions who live on land. All of 
these people are Chinese. When one has traveled through China 
and observed the condition in which the people live his faith in 
the germ theory of disease is badly shaken. For whether the 
Chinaman be rich or poor he has but little notion of cleanliness 
in his domestic and business life. 

CANTON. 

Eighty miles from Hong Kong is Canton, the largest and in 
many respects the most typical city of China. It is reached by sev- 
eral lines of steamers and is well worth a visit. Within a radius 



156 Around the World. 

of fifteen miles, of which it is the center, are twenty cities with 
a population of ten millions, exceeding in density any other spot of 
equal size in the world. In all this enormous city of probably 
two millions of people there is not a wheeled vehicle. The 
streets are not over ten feet wide, some of them are but little 
over six. Everybody, except the well-to-do and the tourists, 
walk. The only means of transportation is by Sedan chairs, car- 
ried upon the shoulders of two or three coolies, according to the 
avoirdupois of the passenger. Our party were several times trans- 
ported through the city in these chairs, and it is an experience to 
be remembered. 

The streets are literally jammed with people, who are made to 
give way for the chairs by the coolies who carr}^ them keeping 
up a continual yelling, and as all other freight, as well as human, 
is borne through the streets upon the backs of coolies, who are 
also constantly shouting to the pedestrians to clear the way, the 
noise is almost deafening. In fact it is deafening, for it is said 
that deafness is very common among Chinamen, caused no doubt 
by the constant tax upon their ear drums. There is one other 
method of transportation indulged in by a few and this is upon 
the backs of ponies. But instead of the riders shouting to warn 
people of their coming there are suspended around the necks 
of the ponies bells, the perpetual jingling of which, like sleigh 
bells, causes the throngs to divide and make passage ways for the 
trotting animals. Ponies and coolies alike go at swift pace with 
their burdens through the streets. 

THE STREETS AND THEIR SIGHTS. 

In Bishop Marvin's book on his trip around the world he says 
that there are two things that will ever be to him a mystery. One 



Hongkong and Canton. 157 

isj^how a boy ever lives to reach the age of sixteen years, and the 
other is how any man gets through the streets of a Chinese city 
alive. 1 have thought of the Bishop's statement a great many 
times when I have been carried in a wholly reckless manner 
through one of these crowded streets. 1 have wondered why the 
coolies who carried me did not stumble and fall, breaking part or 
all of my bones, or why they did not run over and kill scores of 
people, especially children. But strange to say I have not had an 
accident myself, and have not seen one occur to any one else. 
Through these narrow streets move scores of people totally blind, 
sometimes a number of them together, groping their way, but 
none of them are hurt. The streets are built of stone and are 
slick with water and refuse, but still everybody gets along. 
The people are amiable and docile. There are no drunken men, 
no brawlers, and they do nothing that is offensive. They exhibit 
the greatest respect towards foreigners. Where they come from, 
what they do, and how they live is a never-ending mystery. But 
most of them seem to be busy even when they are begging. 

There are no large stores or establishments of any kind. The 
"business places are all one story, and about twelve or fifteen feet 
square. The streets are literally covered with signs and above and 
extending across the streets is lattice work to keep out the rays 
of the sun, which are said to be intolerable in summer. At this 
season the weather is pleasant, barring the incessant rain which 
fell continually during our visit. The shops are crowded with 
people, this being near to the Chinese New Year, which is on Feb- 
ruary 2, and to which the people look forward with childish joy. 
The coming week will be given up entirely to holiday pleasures 
and is the carnival week of the year. 



158 Around the World. 

MISSIONS AND SCHOOLS. 

There are over one hundred missionaries in Canton. Our party 
was entertained at the Baptist mission which now occupies new 
and handsome buildings, near the city. Dr. R. H. Graves, a vet- 
eran in the work, is President of a Theological School attended 
by some forty students. He is assisted by Rev. Dr. G. W. Green 
and a Chinese teacher. Rev. E. Z, Simmons, for many years 
prominent in missionary work in Canton, also lives at the Baptist 
Mission, and Miss Carrie E. Bostick is principal of a female col- 
lege at which there have been some seventy students. Both the 
Seminary and the female college have handsome buildings, and 
Drs, Simmons, Graves and Green occupy fine brick dwellings. An 
academy for boys is also in process of erection upon the grounds, 
and a new church building is in prospect. The Baptists also 
have a flourishing publishing house in Canton under the charge of 
Mr. R. E. Chambers, a gentleman of enterprise and ability. The 
Presbyterians have a Theological Seminary with an attendance 
of seventy students, and are doing a large evangelistic work. 
There is also in the city a large Christian University, supported 
by several denominations. The Presbyterians also have a fine 
girls' boarding school and there are two hospitals under Christian 
control. There are three Presbyterian, three Baptist and two 
Wesleyan churches in the city. Mission work is making fine 
progress. 

CANTON AND THE CANTONESE. 

Although not as attractive to the tourist as either Hankow, 
Shanghai, Peking or Tien-Tsin, the city of Canton is really the 
most important business center in China, and it has a great fu- 
ture. The Cantonese are a people superior to the Chinese of the 



Hongkong and Canton. 159 

northern portion of the empire, respond more readily to edu- 
cational influences and possess more wealth and enterprise. They 
are of more refined nature and of lighter complexion. The future 
of the city is promising. Railroad lines are in process of con- 
struction from Hankow five hundred miles north, and also from 
Hong Kong, and when they are completed, as they will be within 
five years, Canton will be an important railroad center, and it 
will be possible to go by rail from Hong Kong direct to Peking, 
and thence to the great Siberian railway in the north. In fact 
when these lines are built a tourist can enter a Pullman car at 
Hong ICong and get out of it at Paris, France. It will be an- 
other of the many agencies now at work to bring China into close 
relation with the outside world, and to make this great nation, 
so long under the shadow of heathenism and ignorance, so long 
stagnant and isolated, one of the most accessible and potential fac- 
tors in the civilization of the world. 



XXI. 

SOME CHINESE AFTERMATH 

On Board Steamer Waldemar, February 3, 1908. 
This letter is by way of postscript. It is written after leaving 
Hong Kong and on a steamer running at twelve knots an hour 
and swaying yet more rapidly. We are enroute to Manila, which 
we are to reach over a turbulent sea after sixty hours' sail from 
Hong Kong. Looking back over our six weeks in China we re- 
call some matters omitted from previous letters, and there are 
other things to be said by way of summing up. 

THE JAPANESE AND THE CHINESE. 

Coming to China directly from Japan, naturally we are con- 
tinually comparing the people of the two countries. Our party of 
four is divided in opinion, two of us favoring the Japanese and 
the other two the Chinese. So would it likely be with any un- 
prejudiced jury. The Japanese are more cultivated. The cam- 
paign of education is on in that country. It has hardly well begun 
in China. In Japan there are several large universities, two sup- 
ported at government expense. In China there is no government 
university worthy the name, but there are several institutions un- 
der the control of missionaries. What higher learning there is 
outside of that taught in mission colleges has so much Confuci- 
anism and effete Chinese classic literature that it is not of great 
practical value. Primary education, excepting that of the few 
schools established by foreigners has not fairly begun. Western 
learning, as education of the kind known in America and Europe 
is called here, has scarcely gotten a foothold, although there are 
prospects of it spreading rapidly in the near future. Japan has 

(160) 



Chinese Aftermath. 161 

many thousands of primary schools, and her educational system is 
up-to-date. 

The Japanese are the more courtly and gracious. From the 
highest to the lowest they are very polite. The Chinese are 
not. To a favor the Japanese respond by a smile and a bow; the 
Chinaman by a grunt. The Japanese are more chivalrous. They 
make good soldiers and are patriotic. As a soldier the Chinaman 
is a burlesque. There is practically no national spirit in China. 
Enthusiasm of any kind is unknown. The Japanese are fond of 
processions and banners and music and pomp and circumstance. 
None of this is seen in China. There is never a Chinese pro- 
cession. The only thing that appeals to whatever sense of en- 
thusiasm or amusement a Chinaman may possess is the fire- 
cracker, or a gong, and his conceptions of the spectacular are lim- 
ited to a paper lantern and a silk dress. In the industrial arts of 
the higher order as damocene, cloisonne, satsuma and lacquer 
work the Japanese have made fine progress. The Chinese have 
made some headway in similar lines, but in these respects they 
fall far behind the Japanese. Neither people has any idea of music 
or painting or the fine arts. 

The Chinese are the more industrious and thrifty, and are more 
successful and reliable in business. The Chinese give the farmer 
and the scholar a higher rank than the soldier, but the Japanese 
elevate the soldier above every other avocation. The Japanese 
are the more versatile, but the Chinese the more substantial and 
reliable. This, I think is a fair comparison and you may judge 
between them. The verdict of the foreigners who reside or 
have business in the orient is largely favorable to the Chinese. 

FIVE COVETOUS POWERS. 

Deny it as they may it is evident that there are five nations, 
which are looking with covetous eyes on China, and have stationed 
11 



162 Around the World. 

themselves like hungry wolves all about her, waiting to pounce 
upon her at first opportunity. In the south, France has territorial 
jurisdiction over a large area with headquarters at Saigon. In the 
center Great Britain for nearly seventy years has owned a 
hundred miles of sea coast and during all that period has been 
gradually strengthening herself not only in the building up of 
great business interests, but of fortresses and army and naval 
equipment at Hong Kong. I have heretofore referred to Tsing- 
tau in the northern sea coast where Germany has expended many 
millions in building up a fine city and harbor and establishing an 
army and naval station. Russia on the north is still awaiting her 
opportunity, while the most serious menace, and the best organ- 
ized, and most dangerous, but most carefully concealed plotter of 
them all is Japan, which is not only strengthening her army and 
government and developing a national enthusiasm and greed, but 
is obtaining an insidious hold upon China in the education of 
thousands of her young men and in distributing teachers through- 
out the kingdom to instill Japanese virus into the minds of the 
young Chinese. Each nation is but waiting the opportune moment 
to seize all or part either when the Empress Dowager dies or 
some internal or external disturbance affords a pretext. The 
scheme evidently is partition between all of them, except in the case 
of Japan, which would probably join with China in resisting any 
movement of foreign powers to possess the country. And then 
would come the long expected and not improbable war between 
the white and yellow races. In any event the situation is serious 
and whenever the movement for dismemberment starts, war 
will be inevitable, for it will not be possible for the powers to 
agree, nor will China, with her five hundred millions, submit. No 
one can witness the strong foothold being obtained by these 



Chinese Aftermath. 163 

powers, and the millions they are here expending without being 
convinced that China may soon be the storm center of the world. 

America's wise policy. 

From all these complications America has wisely held aloof. 
She has not interfered, nor is she giving indications of an in- 
tention to interfere with China's affairs. The Chinese appreciate 
our country's attitude towards them, and while a few years since, 
irritated by America's exclusion laws, they boycotted our goods, 
they have withdrawn the boycott and now no nation is making 
such progress in securing trade in China as is ours. The return 
by our country of part of the indemnity paid us after the Boxer 
troubles has also secured a most kindly feeling towards America 
from China. It is to be hoped that the United States will never 
be guilty of the folly of participating in the dangerous movement 
of other powers to dismember and absorb China. It would in- 
volve us in a terrible and ruinous war. 

THE EXCLUSION LAWS. 

An unprejudiced observation of conditions in China would, I 
think, convince any thoughtful man that it would be unwise in 
our country to remove its restrictions upon Chinese immigration. 
Not only would the result be to impoverish millions of American 
workingmen, but to bring on a conflict of races far more serious 
than the negro troubles have been. The wages paid Chinese 
coolies are not over one-tenth that paid for similar labor in 
America. Fifty cents a day is a high wage in China, is only paid 
to skilled workmen, while ordinary day laborers receive from but 
ten to twenty cents. But these people live on but from three to ten 
cents a day, not enough to pay for an American workman's coffee. 



164 Around the World. 

While it is true that many Chinamen make excellent servants, 
most of them are slower and inferior to the American laborer, and 
they would hardly be satisfactory to Americans who are only con- 
tent with doing things quick and well. If the immigration restric- 
tions were removed it is evident that many millions would at once 
rush to America, and it does not need the sagacity of a statesman 
or the vision of a prophet to foresee what the result would be in 
this time of labor agitation, as well as of an already too great immi- 
gration of the scum of Europe to America. Some changes 
should be made in the exclusion laws, but as a whole they should 
remain substantially as they are. 

AMERICAN OFFICIALS IN CHINA. 

I cannot close these letters from China without some reference 
to the favorable impression I carry away of the Americans who 
are in charge of official positions in this country. They are clean, 
capable and courteous. I have already referred to the Legation 
at Peking where we had the pleasure of being entertained in the 
home of Mr. Fred M. Bearing, formerly of Columbia, Missouri, 
now second secretary. I must also make reference to Mr. Fletch- 
er, the first secretary and Mr. Haskins, the secretary of Chinese 
affairs, all w^ell qualified for their positions. Among the consuls 
1 have met were Mr. Ragsdale, at Tien-Tsen, ]\Ir. Denby, at 
Peking, Mr. Bargsholz, at Canton and Mr. Amos P. Wilder, at 
Hong-Kong. I think I have referred to most of these gentlemen 
heretofore, except to Mr. Wilder. But he was so courteous that I 
must add a word concerning him. He was formerly editor of the 
State Journal at Madison and is a highly cultivated gentleman, 
who is an honor to his country. The American tourist has no rea- 
son to be ashamed of the representatives of his government over 



Chinese Aftermath. 165 

here. The newspapers have contained much of the reformatory 
work of Judge L. R. Wilfley, of the United States Court at 
Shanghai. While bitterly fought by some who had to suffer he 
has cleansed and elevated conditions in his court, and is warmly 
sustained by the better element of foreigners. He has been ably 
aided by Mr. Arthur Bassett, the United States Attorney, of 
whose capacity I have heard high encomium. As both Judge 
Wilfley and Mr. Bassett are Missourians, and the latter a former 
University student. I have had my state pride to rise several de- 
grees upon hearing of this fine record they have made. 

THE MISSIONARIES. 

I have written of several mission stations I visited and of some 
observations of mission work. Now that I have finished my tour 
of China I am prepared to pass judgment upon mission work in 
the country as a whole. Stripped of all sentimentalism is the 
conclusion that no class of workers have done or are doing as 
much for China as the missionaries. Their work is sane, strenu- 
ous and successful. Whatever progress China has made in com- 
merce or education or freedom is due chiefly to them. As a rule 
they are competent and are doing a great deal for small compensa- 
tion. Of late years the mission work is becoming more educa- 
tional than evangelistic. The Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, 
Episcopalians and Congregationalist^ are sharing in this work, 
nearly equally. I should say that the Methodists are expending 
most money, with the Presbyterians next. They lead, in my judg- 
ment in educational work, while in evangelical movements the 
Baptists are in line with either of them. The Baptists are inaug- 
urating some strong educational enterprises, but they need money 
and considerable of it to bring them up to the Methodists, or 



166 Around the World. 

Presbyterians or Episcopalians. One continues to hear criticism 
of missionaries as he goes along, but as a rule it is either from 
those who are not familiar with their work or from others who 
live here and are a greater obstacle by their degenerate lives to 
the cause of missions than are the heathens themselves. China, 
like Japan, has two kinds of American residents, the best and the 
worst. 

NEW YEAR''S. 

I write this the day succeeding Chinese New Year, it being the 
second New Year's day we have joined in celebrating within 
thirty-three days — our New Year and theirs. New Year's 
is the great day of the year with the Chinese. He looks forward 
to it for weeks and months as children in America do to Christ- 
mas, and celebrates it with the same degree of simplicity and 
zest. They make a great drive in business for weeks before hand, 
and it is required that all accounts be settled and debts paid by 
that day. He who fails to do so "loses face." The New Year 
yesterday was on the Sabbath. All Chinese stores were closed. 
It is rare that New Year falls upOn Sunday. Hence yester- 
day was one of the few days when the Sabbath was observed 
by both Chinese and foreigners. It was a gala day for the 
Chinamen. They were dressed in their finest silks, were in a 
happy state and everything had a holiday aspect. I mingled freely 
among them, and yet of the thousands who were joining in this, 
the greatest holiday of the year, so far as I could see there was 
not one drunk, nor did I observe a single fight. Their solitary 
amusement was the firing of fire crackers, which they suspended 
from the balconies or tops of houses in long strings; and then 
fired them. The fire-cracker is the Chinaman's only idea of 
amusement outside of the e:ong and the tom-tom. 



Chinese Aftermath. 167 

THE END. 

This closes onr letters from China. We spent six weeks in that 
country, traveled thirty-five hundred miles within its territory by 
land and water, and I think we saw the country and the people, 
and got an insight into their life fairly well. Nine-tenths of the 
tourists who visit the orient content themselves with going only 
to Shanghai and Hong-Kong and avoid the interior, under the 
impression that there is nothing to see there or that conditions are 
offensive. In this they make a great mistake. I do not expect to 
have a more interesting, instructive or enjoyable trip anywhere 
than we had up the Yangtse river and to Peking and return. The 
splendid river, the palatial steamers, the walled cities, the Chinese 
life, the great cities of Hankow, Nanking and Peking and the 
government officials and representatives met at Peking, and the 
mission stations and educational institutions visited were a com- 
bination of attractions, a fund of interest and information rarely 
to be found in an equal space of time anywhere in the world, and 
afforded a fair view of all phases of life in China. For it is a 
country in which there is not much variety. One city is a type 
of all others, as is one Chinaman or one river or rural district. 
We visited all the greater cities, most of the leading institutions 
and were favored by meeting with a large number of representa- 
tive officials and foreigners, and the tour was not marred by an 
unpleasant incident. 




IN THE PHILIPPINES 



THE PHILIPPINES. 



XXIL 
THE PHILIPPINES. 

Manila, February 7, 1908. 

Because the trip is over a more or less boisterous sea, because 
"he is told by people who know nothing about it, that it is not 
worth while, because he is usually in a hurry and short of money, 
for these and other reasons, the average American tourist avoids 
the Philippine Islands and skips on to India and Japan which are 
represented as the show countries of the orient. Not one globe- 
trotter in a hundred visits the Philippines, and hence in spite of 
the fact that our goverment has expended over a half billion 
of dollars upon them, and that they constitute about the most 
important problem in American politics we know but little of them 
outside of what we hear from those specially interested in ex- 
ploiting or harming them. But we determined to break the rec- 
ord and like good American patriots go there and see for our- 
selves. And we discovered that not a single reason urged for 
not going was based upon the truth. The trip is somewhat un- 
pleasant, being across the China Sea, but it consumes only sixty 
hours, and the islands well repay a visit even to the tourist who 
is in a hurry and whose letter of credit is near to depletion. 

Manila lies six hundred and thirty-eight miles southeast of 
Hong Kong, and the ship service is fair. At this season the 
weather is fine. Allow a suggestion to those who travel : Do 
not pay much attention to the advice of the average tourist. 
It is best to go and see for yourself. If we had listened to 
tourists we would have avoided practically every country upon 
•our itinerary, and by this time would have been back in America. 

(171) 



172 Around the World. 

One country they will tell you is too hot, another too cold, another 
is infected with smallpox, or cholera or the plague, another con- 
tains nothing worth seeing, and so on. The average tourist is 
easily panicked, and shies away from the slightest discomfort. He 
is usually more concerned by the kind of hotel at which he stops, 
the food he eats, or the place where he sleeps than he is by the 
attractions the country offers. He who would see things must 
expect some discomforts. 

MANILA. 

We must count Manila to this date as the most agreeable 
surprise of our journey. We had expected an old Spanish city 
dilapidated and out of date. Instead we found a live, modern 
place, with broad, clean streets, well paved, beautiful parks, 
handsome public buildings, large and flourishing business estab- 
lishments and with all the aspects of an up-to-date metropolis. 
It contains 300,000 inhabitants, of whom about 20,000 are for- 
eign. Its most attractive feature is its Americanism. For the 
first time since we have been in the orient we found people with 
all their clothes on, and American clothes at that. Coming al- 
most directly from Canton, China, with its narrow and filthy 
streets and its half-clad and filthier people it was a relief and a 
joy to find ourselves in a city which looks as though it were lo- 
cated in the heart of the United States. Instead of the rickshas, 
drawn by human horses, were lines of handsome buggies, lan- 
daus and carriages and instead of the disreputable donkeys and 
oxen were the finest horses, the best blood of America and Aus- 
tralia. The only oriental draught animal to be seen is the cari- 
bou, of water buffalo, which seems to be indispensable in Eastern 
countries. It is of dark grey color, with flat horns that slope 



The Philippines. 173 

backwards and in shape is a cross between a cow and buffalo. 
Nowhere in the world has the transforming influence of Amer- 
ican civilization been so marked as in Manila. Ten years ago 
when the Americans took possession it was a sleepy, ancient Span- 
ish city, with muddy and narrow streets and with buildings 
hundreds of years old. Now with the exception of the old city 
wall, which is still allowed to stand as a relic and a memorial of 
the past, of some ancient Spanish buildings on side streets, of the 
caribou and a few other vestiges of other days, there is little to 
indicate its ancient origin. It looks like New Orleans or Galves- 
ton, Texas. 

SOME OF ITS ATTRACTIONS. 

The bay is one of the largest and prettiest in the world. It 
is so large that our government has built a long sea wall as a 
break-water, it being an extension of a short wall built by the 
Spaniards. Inside the harbor are ships from many countries, not 
so many as at Hong Kong or Shanghai, but a sufficient number 
to give it an animated appearance. Flowing into the bay and 
winding through the city is the Pasig river, overarched with nu- 
merous bridges, reminding one of Paris or London, or Shanghai. 
The most imposing buildings are a number of unusually large 
and handsome Catholic cathedrals, some of them hundreds of 
years old and of Mediaeval Spanish architecture. Fronting upon 
the bay are the Public printing office, a fine establishment, the 
army headquarters and hospital, offices of the city engineer, the 
custom house and cold storage plants, and numerous other public 
buildings erected for government use. 

The business streets have been paved with w^ooden blocks and 
a broad macadamized boulevard has been constructed on the bay 



174 Around the World. 

front, which is also lined by a series of parks, the largest of which,, 
called the Luneta, is a place of universal popular resort in the 
evening. A music stand is near its center, which is brilliantly illu- 
minated with electric lights in the evening and the band, of eighty 
pieces, one of the largest in the world, the leader of which is an 
American negro, gives a concert each evening. It is a splendid 
band, and took second prize at the St. Louis World's Fair. The 
presence of hundreds of carriages, of the men dressed in spotless 
white and the women arrayed in attractive garb, render these 
evening functions the most picturesque and beautiful we have 
seen anywhere outside of Paris. The park overlooks the bay, 
into which it is being gradually extended, an area of over a hun- 
dred acres having been added recently upon which are to be 
erected a handsome hotel and Elks' Club buildings. 

The view of the bay, with its myriad of lights twinkling from 
the boats in the harbor, the handsome drives, the beautiful green 
sward, the attractive garb of the people, the splendid equipages 
and above all the brilliant tropical sky, and the soft, dreamy ideal 
atmosphere combine to make these evenings in ]\Ianila linger in 
the memory as among the most delightful experiences to be had 
anywhere in the world. 

THE DRESS, CLIMATE AND MANNERS. 

The natives have almost entirely abandoned their original 
dress, or lack of dress, and have adopted the American styles. 
Almost all the men wear white linen sacque coats and trousers, 
and either straw hats, caps or helmets. It is the most becoming 
male attire we have seen anywhere. This is where Mark Twain 
got his idea of dressing in pure white. He is correct. It is the 
best dress of all for men in the warmer latitudes. While it is 



The Philippines. 175 

necessary to change suits every day they do not cost much and 
for comfort in warm weather they are unequalled. The climate 
in Manila makes it possible to wear this light garb the year 
around. It does not get so desperately hot as might be supposed. 
It is claimed that in forty-three years the mercury has but three 
times reached one hundred degrees. The average annual tem- 
perature is eighty degrees. The hottest month is May. The 
coldest is September. In May the thermometer stands at an av- 
erage of eighty-three degrees and in September at sixty-eight. 
The average temperature of November, December, January and 
February is 78 degrees; of March, April and May 82 degrees; of 
June, July, August and September, 80 degrees. It is claimed 
that there has never been a case of sunstroke in Manila. The 
warmest part of the day is between 12 and 2 o'clock. During 
those hours stores are closed and people go to luncheon. Business 
does not begin in the morning much before ten o'clock. The 
evenings are cool and pleasant. 

The women like the men are adopting American dress. The 
only articles of clothing that they do not give up is a three-cor- 
nered handkerchief worn about the neck, a stiff material, made of 
pineapple leaves, called the Panuela. They still wear the pro- 
vincial shoe, without any protection to the heels, only covering 
the toes and the front half of the foot. They hold it on by the 
grip of the toes, while the heel continually flaps as they walk. 
How they keep from dropping them from their feet is a mystery. 
But they wear them without stockings on the street and dance 
in them at fashionable balls. Bamboo hats are also a distinctive 
Filipino dress worn by men and women alike. The garb of both 
is modest and inconspicuous and the demeanor of the people is 
respectful, and proper. It is said that the influence of the Amer- 
icans has been elevating. At present the dress and manners of 



176 Around the World. 

the natives are but little different from those of the foreign pop- 
ulation. 

THE HOUSES AND HOME LIFE. 

Evidently there are no CA^clones, or typhoons or other high 
winds, for a good heavy breeze would overturn three-fourths 
of the Filipino residences. They are the frailest of structures, 
more so than are the houses of the Japanese. The roof, which is 
thatched and made of heavy mattings of Nipa leaves is built first. 
It is then lifted upon bamboo poles of from two to four inches in 
diameter. The walls are thin bamboo matting and the floors of 
bamboo slats or reeds about an inch wide b}^ a fourth of an inch 
thick, laid close together, but wide enough apart to admit air 
and light. These floors are at least four feet from the ground. 
As no fires are needed for heat at any time during the year 
there is not much danger of these structures burning up, while 
they are sufficient to protect from the slight variations in temper- 
ature. 

The home life of the Filipinos is of a higher order than that 
of the Japanese or the Chinese. Each man has but one wife, who 
as a rule possesses more force of character and greater business 
ability than her husband. The Philippines is one oriental country 
where woman is treated with respect and deference. Some of the 
women are quite attractive and in dress and manner will compare 
favorably with women of other nationalities. The people are not 
as industrious as either the Japanese or Chinese. Many of them 
are very poor and indolent. Most of them are farmers, raising 
rice, sugar, hemp and tobacco which are the chief products of the 
country. Bananas, cocoanuts, potatoes, and other A^egetables are 
also grown and constitute the chief articles of diet. Outside of 
fish and chickens the people do not eat much meat. 



The Philippines. 177 

SOLDIERS AND FORT WILLIAM MCKINLEY, 

There are some sixteen thousand United States soldiers in 
the PhiHppines. Of these about three thousand are in Manila, 
and most of them are in Fort William McKinley, beautifully 
located near the city. The officers' residences are very hand- 
some. There is a large dance hall called Schofield hall, and the 
'barracks and drill grounds are well appointed. The discipline 
is excellent. It is doubtful if anywhere our soldiers are better 
equipped or drilled. Fortifications are being quietly built, and 
with the seven millions of dollars recently appropriated by con- 
gress it is believed that the city will be practically impregnable. 
So far as can be observed the soldiers are demeaning themselves 
in a manner to reflect credit upon our country. While the civil 
government prevails the presence of the soldiers seems to be ne- 
cessary to the preservation of law and order. 



12 



XXIII. 

THE FILIPINO SCHOOLS AND GOVERNMENT. 

Manila^ February 9, 1908. 
As much as has been pubHshed concerning the Philippines 
since we received them from Spain ten years ago it is not prob- 
able yet that our people fully appreciate their magnitude. If 
you will stretch a line from St. Paul to New Orleans you will 
have their length, and then will stretch another line half way 
across Illinois you will have their average width; or, they are 
a thousand miles long and over a hundred wide. Three-fourths, 
possibly nine-tenths of this area is mountainous and unavailable 
for cultivation. So far the mineral resources have not proven 
abundant. The valleys are fertile and yield chiefly hemp, sugar, 
rice and tobacco. Oranges, bananas, cocoanuts, mangoes and 
most of the vegetables are grown. The forests are said to cover 
forty millions of acres and to yield much valuable lumber. The 
country has not yet proven a profitable business investment. But 
its business has grown under American control, its exports hav- 
ing advanced from $14,846,582 to $32,642,892. 

THE SCHOOLS. 

In no respect has our government exerted so important an 
influence as in education. The people respond to educational 
influences. They make apt students, have retentive memories 
and impressionable minds. There are now a half million of stu- 
dents enrolled in the public schools, of which there are nearly 
four thousand. Of these schools, thirty-five hundred are pri- 
mary, one hundred and sixty intermediate, thirty-six high schools, 
and the remainder agricultural, art and domestic science institu- 
tions. A movement is on foot to establish a National University 

(178) 



Filipino Schools. 179 

and a National Medical School. There are twelve hundred teach- 
ers in these schools, of whom eight hundred are Americans and 
four hundred natives. Besides these teachers supported by the 
insular government there are four or five thousand under the 
municipalities. The government teachers are paid nearly a mil- 
lion dollars in salaries, ranging from $360 to $2,000, a large ma- 
jority receiving $1,200 per annum. The teachers employed by 
the municipalities receive less. The most approved modern meth- 
ods are employed and the teachers are equal to those employed 
in our own land. I visited the Normal School, at Manila, the 
only one in the islands, where there are eight hundred pupils 
preparing themselves to become school teachers. I have not seen 
anywhere more capable teachers, or students who exhibited a 
more intelligent knowledge of the branches taught. It was novel 
and interesting to hear these Filipino boys and girls, but re- 
cently emerged from a condition a little above barbarism, speaking 
English, and demonstrating difficult problems in higher mathe- 
matics, and reciting in civil government, grammar and the nat- 
ural sciences with the aptitude of students in our own land. The 
color of their skin is about the only difference that could be de- 
tected between them and American students. The schoolmaster 
will settle the Philippine problem long before the politicians will 
be able to do so. The expenses of these schools are borne by 
the Filipinos and not by our government. 

HOW THEY ARE GOVERNED. 

The United States owns the Philippine Islands absolutely. It 
obtained them by purchase and conquest. But it does not govern 
them, except in part. The President appoints a Governor-Gen- 
eral, who is a civil officer, and has practically the same authority 
in the islands that the President of the United States has in our 
country. The President also appoints a commission of eight, five 



180 Around the World. 

Americans and three Filipinos, who have been the law-making 
power until the past year, within which time there has been cre- 
ated an Assembly of eighty representatives elected by the peo- 
ple of the Islands, which corresponds to our lower House of Con- 
gress, while the commission has the same jurisdiction as our 
Senate. These two bodies are now the law-making power, the 
Governor-General having the power to veto, and all the laws being 
subject to approval by our government. I attended a session of 
the Assembly and was much impressed by the intelligence and 
ability of its members. While I could not understand a word 
the capacity of the members was manifest in their bearing, their 
thoughtful faces and in the manner in which the proceedings w^ere 
conducted. The body would compare favorably with any deliber- 
ative organization of like nature in the states. 

Each one of the five American members of the commission 
is the head of a distinct department of the government, educa- 
tion, finance and justice, commerce and police, interior and ex- 
ecutive, and each one receives a salary of $15,000 per year, 
$5,000 for acting as commissioner, and $10,000 as cabinet officer, 
for each position is practically similar to that of a member of the 
cabinet of our president. The members of the Assembly receive 
$15 per diem, and the Governor-General is paid a salary of 
$25,000 per year in addition to being furnished with a residence 
and with servants and other prerequisites. It is estimated that 
his income from all sources is between $35,000 and $40,000. All 
these salaries are too high and ought to be reduced. They are 
paid by the Filipino government, but were originally fixed by the 
United States authorities. There is also a system of courts, com- 
posed of a Supreme Court of some seven members, who receive 
a salary of $10,000 each and of a series of district courts an- 
swerine: to our circuit courts. 



Filipino Schools. 181 

Strange to say the old Spanish code is yet in existence and 
is the one they operate under. There is no trial by jury, the 
judge having full jurisdiction. Each province has a governor 
who is elected by the people and has practically the same du- 
ties as are those of a governor of an American state. Asso- 
ciated with him are the state treasurer and one other official, 
who constitute a provincial board. This board answers to a 
state legislature in that it can enact certain laws touching taxa- 
tion and roads and other matters of public concern and has charge 
of the affairs of the province. Thus it will be seen that the gov- 
ernment of the Islands is quite similar to that of our own coun- 
try, and that popular selection of its officials practically pre- 
vails. About the only part the United States is taking is the 
keeping of an army here to preserve peace more particularly in 
the southern or Moro provinces, and as a kind of warning that 
the people must not become turbulent. It is doubtful whether 
the government of the islands would hold together a month but 
for the presence of the army. 

SOURCES OF REVENUE. 

There are two principal sources of revenue, the customs and 
internal revenue. All goods shipped into the Islands have to pay 
a customs duty. The revenue from this source is about eight 
millions of dollars, and is all paid into the Islands' treasury. The 
internal revenue taxes yield about four millions. These taxes 
are upon much the same articles as in the United States. The 
tax on land is nearly one per cent. The provinces are subdivided 
into municipalities, the governing bodies of which are councils 
similar to our city councils, but their jurisdiction extends far 
beyond the limits of the city or town in which they are located. 



182 Around the World. 

The population of the Islands is about eight millions. There are 
some fifteen or twenty large islands, Luzon and Mindanao being 
the largest, and there are about as many provinces as there are 
islands. 

The intelligent part of the population is in the north^ chiefly 
in Luzon. Those in the southern islands are yet in a semicivilized 
state. The principal cities are Manila, Eefu, lloilo, Zamboanga 
and lolo. 

THE TARIFF INJUSTICE. 

The chief obstacle to the development of the Islands, and the 
most inconsistent and indefensible injustice being done them is 
that the tariff duties are permitted to remain upon their products 
as though they were the territory of a foreign and rival power. 
Although they belong to the United States and we are deeply 
interested in their development and prosperity we shut them 
from our markets even when to admit them would be to our ad- 
vantage. Take hemp, tobacco and sugar for example. These 
are the main products of the Islands. Of neither do we grow 
in our country as much as we consume. We shut them from our 
markets by our prohibitory tariff, and at the same time admit 
them from Porto Rico and Hawaii free. We complain that the 
Islands are a bad investment, and yet we make them a worse 
one by throttling their industries. There can be but one ex- 
planation, and that is that this suicidal policy is in the interest of 
the big monopolies in our land. We might with as much jus- 
tice and business sense levy a tariff upon Louisiana sugar or 
Dakota wheat, for the Philippines are as much our territory as 
are they; and more in need of our aid and encouragement. If 
the government is to be operated upon the theory of fostering 



Filipino Schools. 183 

infant industries, here is the most helpless and needy infant we 
have ever had. And yet we starve the infant to help the giants 
who have grown rich and powerful through forty years of protec- 
tion. Why does not the Democratic party take up this matte; 
and cry aloud? 

TOBACCO INDUSTRIES. 

The tobacco business here is something immense. I visited a 
mammoth establishment in Manila, known as "The Germinal," 
wherein are employed twelve hundred people manufacturing ci- 
gars and cigarettes, and which paid out last year a quarter of a 
million of dollars in internal revenue taxes. It is a splendidly 
equipped and managed institution. But this great establishment, 
with all of its enormous output, is excluded by the tariff from 
America and has to seek a market elsewhere. The same is true 
of several other great industries. While we are professing such 
love for the Filipinos that we send soldiers to protect and ed- 
ucators to teach them wh}^ should we keep on our statute books 
laws to keep them poor? The way to show that we are opening 
our hearts to them is to open our doors to their commerce. 

THE BILIBID PRISON. 

The most interesting institution which we saw in the Philip- 
pines was the Bilibid or government prison at Manila. It con- 
tains over four thousand prisoners, the largest number inside 
any prison in the world and is the only penitentiary in the is- 
lands. Its buildings extend like the spokes of a wheel from a 
central tower from the top of which there is a view of the whole. 
We visited the prison at five o'clock in the afternoon and saw 
all the prisoners in line for inspection arranged down the dif- 



184 Around the World. 

ferent avenues between the buildings, and then marched by the 
supply station where they received their suppers. A band com- 
posed of prisoners, played in the meantime. The drill and dis- 
cipline surpassed anything we have ever seen in a prison. It 
was an impressive spectacle. There is absolute cleanliness, and 
as it never is hot or cold the walls of the various departments 
are opened so that the prisoners are in full view while in their 
cells. We were shown the prisoners by the assistant superintend- 
ent, Mr. Stewart, formerly of Nebraska, who was secretary to 
Mr. Bryan in the latter's first campaign for the presidency, and 
by another assistant, Mr. Dorrington, who is a brother-in-law 
to Mr. David A. Ball, of Missouri. The prison they are con- 
ducting is a credit to themselves and the United States. Of the 
prisoners all are Filipinos, except about sixty, who are Amer- 
icans, most of whom have been convicted of embezzlement,. The 
law is being well enforced, and the penalties inflicted even for 
minor offenses, are quite severe. 



XXIV. 

THE PHILIPPINES— WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THEM? 

Manila, February lo, 1908. 
It has been just ten years since Dewey sailed into Manila 
Bay, smashed the Spanish fleet, and waked up next morning to 
find himself famous. We have since learned that his achieve- 
ment was no great job, and that it required neither extraordi- 
nary skill nor heroism to perform it. As a result he has fallen 
from his pedestal, not because he gave his residence to his wife, 
but because he did nothing hard or extraordinary. There were 
no powder mines in the bay and the old Spanish fleet, to use 
an expression of a gentleman here who was on one of Dewey's 
ships when he w^ent in, was about as capable of resisting the 
American squadron as a lot of sardine boxes would have been. 
Dewey knew all this before he went in, for the facts had been 
communicated to him by a man from Manila, who knew all about 
it. All he had to do was to sail in and go to shooting. But 
America went wild as it is in the habit of doing and never stop- 
ped until she bought the islands at the cost of the immense 
expenditure of life and treasure in the Spanish war with twenty 
millions of dollars added. She immediately proclaimed herself 
a world power and got drunk with enthusiasm, and built Dewey 
arches and monuments, and gave him a tremendous reception 
in New York and set him on a platform with her greatest he- 
roes. 

THE SCENE OF THE BATTLE. 

By the way, the scene of the Dewey naval battle was not in 
the harbor of Manila, but across the bay seven miles distant at 

(185) 



186 Around the World. 

Cavite, an old Spanish city of some sixty thousand people. We 
visited it, sailing directly over the scene of the fight with a gen- 
tleman who was on one of Dewey's ships. The city is ancient 
and sleepy, not especially changed since Spanish days, and is 
what Manila was then. A United States Navy yard, employing 
four thousand Filipinos and next to the largest navy yard we 
own, is there located. Some of the old Spanish gunboats still 
remain, and their inability to withstand the terrific fire of Amer- 
ican guns is plainly apparent. This great navy yard at Cavite 
and the splendid soldiers' quarters at Fort William McKinley 
near Manila are an exhibition of American army and naval 
power to be found scarcely any where else in the world. When 
one beholds all this display of national strength, the American 
flag wherever he turns, and evidences of Americanism all about 
him, he can scarcely realize he is eight or ten thousand miles 
from home in Asiatic waters and that all this has come to pass 
within ten years. 

QUESTIONING ITS WISDOM. 

There were those of us who doubted the wisdom of this pur- 
chase. We did not believe the islands were worth what we paid for 
them. We feared that their maintenance and development would 
prove an expensive undertaking and that they might involve us in 
trouble with foreign powers, that we might get mixed up in 
quarrels ever prevalent in the East. But our fears were pro- 
nounced groundless and we were set down as obstructionists. 
McKinley was renominated and re-elected and so was Roose- 
velt, upon the issue of holding the Philippines and developing 
the Filipinos. So we went to spending money in army occupa- 
tion, buildings, schools, public improvements, civil service and 



The Philippine Problem. 187 

otherwise, until it is estimated that there have been spent sev- 
eral hundred millions of dollars. We were right as to the ex- 
pense, but wrong up to this date as to getting into trouble with 
foreign powers. As a business investment we have lost money, 
but we have wrought a great change in the islands and the peo- 
ple, such as was never wrought before in any people within the 
same length of time. In the end we will come out ahead finan- 
cially. 

SOME THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE. 

We have brought a large foreign population, mostly Amer- 
icans, into the islands, who have invested many millions of dol- 
lars in business enterprises and are developing the country rap- 
idly. We have planted four thousand schools, with eight hun- 
dred American teachers, and attended by a half million of pu- 
pils. We have transformed Manila from a dilapidated Spanish 
town into a modern metropolis with electric lights, electric cars, 
sewers, fine public buildings, modern newspapers, theaters, 
churches and all the institutions of a twentieth century city. 
Other cities in a more or less marked degree have been also 
transformed. All these children in the schools are being taught 
the English language and are receiving an education equal to 
that given American children. In their dress and manner and 
methods of living and transacting business the people have 
been revolutionized, are strikingly like Americans and are far 
in advance of all other orientals. The government has millions 
of dollars invested in army and navy equipment and other public 
buildings and has a well organized civil service, and judicial, 
legislative and executive systems of government. We have an- 
chored an immense amount of money and education and prog- 



188 Around the World. 

ress and have wrought a social, commercial, political and educa- 
tional revolution. We have so much there and it is so firmly- 
fixed that we could not pull it up and haul it away if we wanted 
to. The two peoples have become so identified and interdependent 
that the partnership could not be dissolved without irreparable 
injury to both. 

WHAT OUGHT WE TO DO WITH THEM ? 

In view of all this what ought we to do with the Philippines? 
Ought we to give them up now or hereafter? If hereafter, 
when? I must confess that a visit to the islands has modified 
my views concerning our policy towards them. I cannot see 
how we can surrender them without injustice to our own govern- 
ment, to our citizens who have located and invested money in 
the islands, and to the Filipinos themselves, who have made such 
marked advancement under our educational influences. It would 
be suicide and revolution and a lapse back to barbarism to re- 
lease our hold iipon the islands now. And I do not see how 
we can fix a time to do so in the future. It is not possible now 
to foretell when it will be wise to give up the islands, or 
whether it will ever be wise. It is a problem that must work itself 
out, and which can not be solved by legislative enactment. While 
the children are being educated and the people are learning and 
improving, they are not ready for self-government yet, nor will 
they be for many years under the most enlightening influences. 
Practically half the islands, the southern half, occupied by the 
Moros, is only half civilized, and there is a dense ignorance among 
a large majority of those in the northern or more intelligent 
section. To take an army away from here now or within the 
next few years would be to turn these half savage and ignorant 



The Philippine Problem. 189 

masses loose upon thousands of our citizens and upon themselves 
to pillage and murder and to plunge the country into anarchy 
and revolution. While the young are being educated the old 
classes remain ignorant. A gentleman who is superintendent of 
the public schools in a province of 260,000 inhabitants said to me 
that he did not believe there were fifty men in the province ca- 
pable of exercising the franchise. It is true they have a nominal 
popular government but the elections are the merest farces, and 
are controlled by a few bosses. 

INFLUENCES OF COMMERCE AND EDUCATION, 

Every American business man or school teacher who locates 
in the Philippines and goes at his work intelligently and in a 
spirit of kindness and fairness is forging a bond of union be- 
tween the Filipinos and Americans stronger than any legislative 
enactments, and is working out the problem of the final disposi- 
tion of the islands more surely than either Presidents, or Con- 
gress, or armies can determine it. Ever}^ Filipino boy or girl 
w^ho learns the English language and catches the inspiration of 
Western learning, or passes under the sympathetic and whole- 
some influence of intelligent American teachers becomes an ad- 
ditional element in the solution of the problem. The longer our 
business men and school teachers and Christian leaders live and 
work among these people the more they win their confidence 
and cause them to appreciate how much more our civilization 
has for them than had the old conditions under wdiich they have 
lived. Within a few years longer the two peoples will have 
"become so identified that under no conditions would they sep- 
arate from each other. 



190 Around the World. 

THE HUMANITARIAN SIDE. 

Nothing could be more non-philanthropic, more non-humani- 
tarian than at this transition period to turn this government back 
into the hands of the semi-civilized, the ignorant and demagogic 
Filipinos, who would undo all that has been done; would tear 
down the school houses, and the churches, and no doubt drive 
our people from the islands. While the islands may not have 
been a profitable financial investment they have afforded op- 
portunity for elevating these people which we have finely im- 
proved, and it would be grievous folly to throw away all the 
good that has been done. 

THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE PEOPLE. 

That the people possess intellectual and moral elements which 
will finally qualify them for self-government there is no doubt. 
But it will take time to develop them, until one or two genera- 
tions can be educated and shall have passed under Christian in- 
fluences. They are apt students, and good artisans. The public 
printer, who is conducting the finest printing plant we have seen 
in the East, told us that they made excellent linotype operators and 
printers. They do clerical work well, being fine scribes, and are 
faithful and reliable. They have few bad habits, do not drink 
whiskey, and are not immoral. Their only drink is called vino, 
made of the Nipa plant, but they do not drink to excess. They 
are temperate and amiable. There are some able lawyers and 
physicians among them, and many fine school teachers. Ulti- 
mately all these elements will gain control, but it will only be 
after a long process of education and when they do it is doubt- 
ful whether they will desire to cut loose from the people who 
have been their greatest benefactors and to whom they will be 
bound by so many ties of interest and sympathy. 



The Philippine Problem. 191 

WHAT RESIDENTS OF THE ISLANDS THINK. 

I have talked with men of all avocations and all shades of po- 
litical opinion and without exception they declare that it would 
be the direst calamity to American interests here to surrender 
the islands or hold out a promise of doing so. They declare that 
it would result in all Americans being compelled to depart and in 
leaving the islands in worse condition than we found them. 
These are facts that I deem it my duty to state after a careful 
study of the situation. 

NOT ORTHODOX POLITICS. 

I fear that the views here expressed may not be in accord 
with those of many of the leaders of the great party to which I 
belong, but 1 have deemed it my duty to give utterance to my 
convictions based upon a knowledge gained by actual contact 
with the conditions themselves. I feel sure it will be a mistake to 
surrender this immense territory which we own by right of con- 
quest and purchase, which has been bought at such great ex- 
pense, and where we have already done so much for the ele- 
vation and development of its people. I beheve that it will not be 
long before it will become a source of profit instead of loss and 
will be the nucleus whence we may exercise a commanding in- 
fluence commercially, religiously, educationally and politically in 
the East. We can not afford to turn these people back into bar- 
barism when we have just brought them to the light, or to give 
up all we have done, and lose all we have expended when we 
have reached the period of harvest and fruition. I hope my party 
will let the Philippines alone and apply itself to the tariff and 
the trusts. 



192 Around the World. 

A visit to the Philippines has had the effect to increase 
my pride in my country and to confirm the judgment 
that in the achievements of modern civiHzation^ in their ability 
to bring things to pass and to accomplish results for the freedom 
and advancement of the human race Americans have no rivals 
among the nations of the earth. Whatever may be our differences 
of opinion touching the wisdom of the purchase and retention of 
the Philippines we all will agree that no achievement in the 
history of our people is more creditable to their ability, genius 
and philanthropy, and no one has placed them in these respects in 
more striking contrast with other nations, or has done so much 
to command in the East such respect and honor for the enterprise 
and progressive spirit of America, or has placed our country so far 
ahead in these respects of all other nations in the eyes of the 
world. 




IN MANILA— The Central Picture is the San Juan Bridge JC/iere the First Shot 
Jf'as Fired in the Revolution 



XXV. 
THE FILIPINOS AND THEIR WAYS. 

Manila, February ii, 1908. 

Self-government is a basic principle of Republics. But even 
we Americans do not apply it without respect to persons. We 
do not permit children, or imbeciles, or lunatics, or Indians to 
vote. We recognize that they are not qualified. We know that 
three-fourths of the negroes in the south, who have lived under 
civilizing influences all their lives and have had the franchise for 
forty years, are not competent voters. We have discovered that 
intelligence is essential to the franchise, and even it is not always 
a safe condition. If these facts are applicable to those who live 
among us, and are familiar with our own institutions they are 
more pertinent to the Filipinos, who never heard of a Republi- 
can government until ten years ago and are yet in a state of 
ignorance as well as without sympathy for us or our institutions. 
They were reared under monarchial influences and most of them 
have no idea of what popular government means. To turn such 
a people loose to set up a government for themselves would be 
madness. 

Having bought and taken possession of this country we 
are morally bound to protect these people even from them- 
selves. It is true that they already have a semblance of popular 
government. They elect their own municipal oflicials and their 
legislative assembly. But their elections are the merest burlesques 
and are controlled by a few bosses and demagogues. They 
illustrate their unfitness for a Republican form of government. 
While their legislative assembly contains many intelligent men it 
is well known that its selection was largely directed by Americans, 

(193) 
13 



194 Around the World. 

and no such body would be chosen by the Fihpinos if they were 
left to themselves. As an instance of their ideas of doing things 
their first act was to vote themselves fifteen dollars a day each 
and their speaker the preposterous salary of $12,500 gold a 
year. It is well known that but for the presence of the military 
and a wholesome fear and regard for the American government, 
and that there is an American commission and governor to re- 
verse anything they might attempt they would do all sorts of 
wild and reckless things. Nothing is plainer to a visitor to the 
islands that the people are not now and will not be capable of 
self-government for generations to come. 

THE COUNTRY IS OURS. 

We must not forget that this country is our property. We re- 
ceived it as a reimbursement for the money we expended in the 
war with Spain, and we paid twenty millions of dollars more for 
it. We expended a great deal of money in suppressing a revolu- 
tion, have kept a large standing army there for ten years, and 
have expended very much in a military and naval armament, and 
in public improvements. Taking all these outlays together it 
has cost us between five hundred millions and a billion of dollars. 
We cannot afford to fool it away or give it away upon a mere 
sentiment just as it is beginning to pay us back, and at a time 
when to do so would not only sacrifice all we have expended, 
financially ruin many thousands of our citizens who, having faith 
in our government, have invested their money there, but would 
put the country back into a condition as bad or worse than it 
was before we took possession of it. It would be senseless to thus 
sacrifice that which is ours, and set back into ignorance and bar- 
barism those whom we have expended so much to educate and 



Filipinos and Their Ways. 195 

elevate. We are doing a great philanthropic and humanitarian 
work here. It would be next to criminal to stop or undo it. 
It would be even worse for the Filipinos than it would be for 
ourselves. 

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE. 

While the Filipinos take kindly to education they have de- 
cided limitations. They are not original. They are copyists. 
They possess no initiative qualities. They learn language and 
history, and such branches as involve largely the memory, but 
mathematics and the sciences and those studies which require an 
exercise of the reasoning faculties they are short on. They are 
not industrious or ambitious. Like the negro when they are 
educated they seek to escape manual labor and want to be lawyers 
or doctors or teachers. They are amiable and temperate, but not 
sympathetic. Human suffering does not excite sorrow or grief. 
It is said that even death in the family calls forth no special ex- 
pressions of grief. Funerals are tearless affairs, and sorrow for 
the dead is a sentiment largely unknown. We attended a dra- 
matic performance in the course of which an actor died in a most 
heart-rending manner. Instead of his groans of anguish and his 
dying agony producing tears they called forth shouts of laughter, 
and the more piteous his wails the more uproarious was the 
amusement of the audience. While outwardly friendly to the 
Americans the universal belief is that they have a concealed hatred 
for our people which would burst into riot and murder the day 
our troops are removed. 

EXTRAVAGANT SALARIES. 

The pruning knife should be applied to some of the salaries 
paid to government officials. The governor receives in salary 



196 Around the World. 

and perquisites $35,000, the i\merican Commissioners $15,000 
each; the members of the Supreme Court $10,000 each; the speak- 
er of the Assembly $12,500, the members of the assembly $15 per 
day. All these salaries as are those of some other officials 
are too high^ and ought to be reduced. This money does not 
come out of the government of the United States, but is paid 
out of the Island treasury. The only expense borne by the 
United States here is the standing army of 16,000 men, and the 
naval outlay. But as the soldiers and the naval expense would 
have to be borne somewhere else, Mr. Taft and Mr. Roosevelt 
object to this expenditure being charged to the Philippine ac- 
count, which they claim is only responsible for the transportation 
of the soldiers and sailors here, which involves an outlay of 
some five millions of dollars per annum. Formerl}^ there was 
quite an amount of embezzlements among those charged with 
governing the islands, but as the law was rigidly enforced against 
the offenders and they were sent to the penitentiary it has stop- 
ped. There is need yet of retrenchment and reform. 

RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS. 

Religion has not kept pace with education. There are many 
mission stations in various sections, but it is surprising that there 
are not more in view of the opportunities afforded by the pro- 
tection of the American government. There are fine Presbyterian 
and Methodist churches in Manila, and the Christian church is 
doing a work there. The Presbyterian church building has the 
novel feature of a roof garden on it where the members meet for 
social purposes, and for worship. The Y. M. C. A. also is doing 
a good work in Manila. The Catholic, for a century, has been 
the dominating religion, and the cathedrals in Manila and else- 



Filipinos and Their Ways. 197 

where are ancient, mammoth and handsome structures. The dom- 
ination of the friars was the chief cause in leading to the revolu- 
tion against Spain, but they have become more reasonable since 
Americans have had control. Large masses of the people are 
Pagans, and there is a great field for Christian Missions. 

LABOR, WAGES AND AGRICULTURE. 

One effect of the American assumption of government here 
has been an increase in wages to laborers to double what they 
were in this country or are now in China or Japan. Day laborers 
receive from twenty-five cents to seventy-five cents per day, and 
skilled laborers more. Printers in the public printing office are 
paid from one to two dollars per day. Improved machinery has 
been introduced not only in the manufactories, but upon the 
farms, and instead of the primitive plow or hoe may now be 
found modern agricultural machines. 

THEATRES AND SOCIAL LIFE. 

We attended four different theaters in Manila in order that 
we might observe the standard of dramatic taste and the social 
conditions. The audiences were well behaved and the perform- 
ances, most of which were by natives, were not only morally 
unobjectionable, but about equal to those to be found in the aver- 
age American or European city. They were somewhat crude 
but gave evidences of good dramatic talent, one performance 
consisting largely of fighting with swords, wherein the contest- 
ants fought for the favor of the lady. The battle was fierce and 
protracted, as well as amusing, and was greatly enjoyed by a 
large audience. We attended an opera at the Grand Opera 
House, a large and modern auditorium, which was a high class 



198 Around the World. 

performance. I was specially struck with the fine appreciation of 
music of the audience, as well as with its well dressed and cul- 
tured appearance. The Filipinos are natural musicians. It is said 
that they sow seed in the field to music. I was told this by a 
reliable man. 

VISIT THE PHILIPPINES. 

I shall ever regard it as a great privilege that I had oppor- 
tunity to pay a personal visit to the Philippines. 1 obtained a 
knowledge of conditions there that could not have been secured 
in any other way. Every American who can do so should do 
likewise, for not only is the problem of the Philippines one of 
special interest to every American citizen, but there is no doubt 
but that the islands are to play an important part in our history 
and in our influence upon the nations of the world. For I here 
record the prophecy in spite of political platforms and at the 
risk of differing from some of my political brethren that the 
United States will never abandon them. 



XXVI. 
TRAVELING IN THE TROPICS. 

Singapore^ Malacca Straits, February 26, 1908. 

Like Mark Twain, we are now "following the equator." We 
are within eighty miles of it and may be across it before this 
letter is finished. We are three thousand miles south of the 
latitude of Missouri, and two thousand south of New Orleans. 
Strange to say the climate is delightful, and we have yet to ex- 
perience the intense heat we were told we would encounter in 
the tropics. This letter is begun at two o'clock in the afternoon, 
is being written under a private veranda adjoining our room, 
while the American flag floats on the roof above us, kindly 
placed there in our honor by the manager of the hotel. Although 
this is the warmest hour of the day a pleasant breeze is stirring, 
being wafted from the bay near by across a beautiful tennis park 
and laden with the sweet perfumes of the tropics. The heat is 
not greater than it would be on an average June day in Mis- 
souri. 

This city of Singapore lies at the extreme southern end of 
the Malay Peninsula, 11,000 miles from Missouri, is the capital 
of the Straits Settlements, is under British control and has been 
since 1819, when Sir Stamford Raffles landed and planted the 
English ensign upon this island. It is as typically tropical as any 
city in the world. It is thoroughly modern, has wide streets, 
electric lights and tramways, handsome parks, fine public build- 
ings and a flourishing business. It contains about 500,000 people, 
chiefly Chinese, with many Malays and people from all parts of 
India and of the world. The city is so thoroughly anglicized, the 

(199) 



200 Ai'ound the World. 

British being in such dominance that it has but few of the char- 
acteristics of a primitive settlement. The streets are thronged 
with handsome ecjuipages, including automobiles and carriages of 
the latest date and the best horses 1 have seen anywhere except 
in Manila. But the donkey and the Missouri mule are conspicu- 
ously absent. The constumes of the people of the better class, 
native and foreign, are almost exclusively white from helmets to 
shoes. The coolie or laboring class is divided between those of a 
mulatto complexion and of a color as black as midnight. But all 
are very lithe and active. The dress of many of them is confined 
to a breech clout around the loins, the remainder of their persons 
being that in which nature clothed them. Rikshas are much in 
evidence, as much so as in Japan and China. The draft animals 
are oxen, some of the American type, and others of the India 
variety, the latter having vertical horns, with bulging foreheads 
and humps upon their shoulders. They are hitched in spans to 
carts with two large wheels, and the yokes rest entirely upon 
their necks, there being no pressure upon the breast. 

A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY. 

We joined with a fellow traveler and spent a day going over 
the island in an automobile. The trip was ideal. There is a 
sweetness in the tropical air and a sensuous joy in the luxuriance 
of a tropical forest that must be experienced to be appreciated. 
The roads are wide and smooth, and sufficiently yielding to make 
travel delightful. They are made of a crushed stone of a deep red 
color and look like the red slate used in the driveways about Co- 
lumbia and other Missouri cities. The trees are chiefly cocoanut 
palms which are set out in rows in orchards and cultivated as 
we do apple trees in America. Much of the country is wild jungle 



Traveling in the Tropics. 201 

composed of all varieties of trees indigenous to the latitude and 
of such dense growth as to be almost impenetrable. There were 
not many birds visible, but monkeys could be seen leaping about 
the trees as squirrels do in a Missouri forest. Pineapples are al- 
most the exclusive vegetable grown, but they are not in as flour- 
ishing condition, as well cultivated, or as palatable as those in 
the Hawaiian Islands. Along the way we passed many little 
Malay villages, composed of wretched bamboo bungalows with 
thatched roofs. The only wheeled vehicles encountered were ox 
carts. 

HABITS OF LIFE. 

There is an ease and indolence about tropical life that is con- 
tagious. There is something about the dreamy slumbrous climate 
that makes one feel like lying down and suspending all mental 
and physical operations. The way people live is much out of 
line with the habits of those accustomed to the strenuous life of 
the temperate zones. Tea is served in bed at 6 :oo o'clock, break- 
fast is eaten between half past eight and ten, luncheon between 
one and two and dinner an}^ time after seven, with numerous 
teas and fruits between meals. From twelve to two and even 
until three or four business is largely suspended, some of the 
establishments closing their doors while the proprietors and em- 
ployees go home to take an afternoon nap or siesta. The im- 
portant period is the evening. Between seven and twelve o'clock 
the entire population issues forth. Every carriage and riksha 
and other vehicles are in requisition, while the sidewalks swarm 
with lounging pedestrians. Near the hotel where we are spending 
five days awaiting a steamer is a large park surrounded by a 
boulevard, which is every evening thronged with this moving 



202 Around the World. 

multitude, all the vehicles with lamps, and the sight of this illumi- 
nated serpent trailing around the park is one to be long remem- 
bered. 

THE TROPICAL NIGHT, 

The most enchanting visions of this southern world are not in 
the day, but in the night. It would require a pen more prolific 
than this one to describe them. The deep blue of the sky, the 
brilliance of the moon and stars, the dreamy sensuousness, the 
gentle balminess, the sweet calm of the air, made the more sooth- 
ing when fanned as it always is by a soft breeze, all these make a 
tropical night glorious. And if it is delightful on land it is even 
more so on sea. When upon an ocean steamer and a smooth 
ocean one sits out upon deck with the canopy of the heavens above 
him, and only the air and the waters shimmering under the 
moonlight about him he must have a dead soul if he is not stirred 
with every sentiment that is reverential and pure and holy. It is 
worth a trip around the world to enjoy these nights in which we 
have been reveling for the past weeks and of more of which we 
have the prospect in several months to come, for we have so 
planned our journey that we are to enjoy them almost to its end. 

LIFE AT SEA. 

It has been one hundred and thirty-five days, or over nineteen 
weeks since we left our homes in Missouri. The time has sped 
so rapidly, has been so filled with profit and pleasure that we can 
scarcely realize that so much time has elapsed. We are grateful 
that with the exception of a delay of two or three weeks caused 
by an accident in Japan we have not had a mishap or an unpleas- 
ant experience. We have traveled sixteen thousand miles, and 



Traveling in the Tropics. 203 

of this distance over twelve thousand have been by water. One 
of the expensive features of a tour of the globe is that so much 
of it has to be out of sight of land. Of the nineteen weeks we 
have been from home six weeks, or nearly one-third has been on 
the ocean. But there are compensations for this isolation. Steam- 
ship travel is becoming constantly more pleasant. Steamers are 
now so steady that sea-sickness is a rare diversion. The fare is 
much better than at the hotels and the social life is very enjoyable. 
Many life-long friendships are formed, and opportunity is af- 
forded not only for that recuperation and rest which every busy 
man needs, but for meeting well informed people from all sec- 
tions of the world and of all phases of life under conditions favor- 
able for drawing the best from them. One obtains nearly as 
much benefit from the acquaintances he meets on ship board as he 
does from the sights he sees on land. Then there is no tonic equal 
to the sea air with its freedom from germs and its life-giving in- 
fluences. The man whose appetite is not strengthened and whose 
general health is not promoted by the sea is in a hopeless state. 
As to safety sea travel is regarded securer from accidents than 
land, and if there are any storms we are grateful to say they have 
shifted their course from us to this date. 

A RULER WITH DIAMOND TEETH, 

Close by Singapore lies a small province called Jahore, ruled 
by a nominal Sultan, whom England permits to enjoy the honors 
without the authority of his office. He is distinguished by the 
fact that he is a "high-roller,'^ to employ an American term, is an 
all around sport, and has his teeth set with diamonds. He is 
said to have the most brilliant smile of any living man, for when 
he opens his mouth to laugh he looks like an electric light. We 



204 Ai-ound the World. 

have been wondering- if Mr. Roosevelt, who enjoys the exhibition 
of his teeth, could not even improve that spectacular part of him- 
self by imitating the Sultan of Jahore. 

SOME OF OUR TROUBLES. 

The life of the globe trotter is not free from its exasperations. 
One of these is the servants who can not understand. Nearly 
all the servants are Chinese. If there is one quality more than 
another in which the Chinese are gifted it is in misunderstanding. 
We have had an illustration since this letter was begun. We 
sent the boy who waits upon us for writing paper, and he brought 
us bread, butter and cheese. When we have called for hot 
water we have received either an apple or a sandwich. Like the 
negro he will not wait for you to explain nor will he confess his 
ignorance, but will rush off before you can get through direct- 
ing him, and always do the wrong thing. We have had a riksha 
coolie haul us all around a city, everywhere except to where we 
wanted to go, while we were expostulating and storming at him 
all the way, trying to get him to change his course. He would 
only answer "yes, yes," and keep on going in the wrong direction. 

By the way frequently the first thing a Chinaman asks you after 
he is introduced is your age. I have made them guess as to mine, 
but when one guessed it at sixty-three, another at seventy-three 
and another at seventy-eight, I stopped asking them to guess and 
gave the correct information. I was telling this to a friend, who 
relieved my embarrassment by informing me that a Chinaman 
had no idea of people's ages. He said one had asked him his 
age. H)e replied that he was thirty-five. The Chinaman at once 
replied: "You are a liar, sir." A Chinaman does not consider 
it a discourtesv to call a man a liar. "You are a hundred sir," he 



Traveling in the Tropics. 205 

continued. "No," explained another Chinaman, "He was a hun- 
dred when he was born, but he has Hved sixty-five years and now 
he is only thirty-five." The explanation, while not pleasing 
to my friend, was satisfactory to the Chinaman. The incident is 
given to illustrate how the Chinaman gets everything backward. 
He writes backward, talks backward, thinks backward. He is the 
most distorted and abnormal of beings, and the most difficult to 
fathom. And yet all over the orient he has the confidence of for- 
eigners as has no other native, and there is not a thriftier indi- 
vidual, or one who makes headway more universally, or under 
more adverse conditions. 

JAVA NEXT. 

But I find I have wandered away from my subject and must 
close before crossing the equator. We expect to cross it within 
the next twenty-four hours en route from here to Java, which 
we hear from everyone is the most beautiful country in the 
world. We have therefore concluded to make a divergence from 
our journey and go there for ten days. 




oq 



JAVA 



XXVIl. 
JAVA, THE BEAUTIFUL. 

Island of Java, February 28, 1908. 

If you will examine the map you will find that Asia is skirted on 
its eastern boundary by three archipelagoes. At the northern ex- 
tremity is Japan, covering 161,000 square miles. In the center are 
the Philippines, extending over an area of 115,000 miles. At the 
south end are the Dutch East Indies, embracing 764,000 square 
miles or more than twice the area of the other two. The islands 
comprising the last named archipelago are Borneo, excepting one 
corner, Sumatra, Celebes, New Guinea, Malacca, Java and many 
smaller islands. Of these the greatest, although next to the 
smallest in area of the larger islands, is Java. It contains but 
fifty thousand square miles, being scarcely as large as the state 
of Arkansas, and less than half of it is susceptible of cultiva- 
tion. Yet this small island supports a population of over thirty- 
six million of people, fully a third of that of the United States, 
and about the same as that of Japan. Of these thirty-five millions 
are natives, over a half million are Chinese and about seventy- 
five thousand, nearly all Dutch or Hollanders, are Europeans. 
There are less than ten Americans on the Island. 

For nearly three hundred years, with the exception of five 
years, when it was in the hands of the English, it has been under 
the control of Holland or the Netherlands, as are all the Dutch In- 
dies. It is not a colony, but a possession, being ruled entirely by 
the Netherlands, and having no popular representation in any of 
the branches of the imperial government. There is a Governor- 
General, and a cabinet, or "s. court of India," who are his advisers, 

(209) 

14 



210 Around the World. 

but all their actions are subject to approval by the home govern- 
ment. There is a native Sultan and many subordinate native rul- 
ers, whose authority is largely nominal and who hold their po- 
sitions as a means of placating the people. There is an army of 
occupation, comprising some twenty-thousand soldiers, supported 
by the revenues of the island. There is a limited system of public 
schools, but feebly patronized by the natives, not five per cent 
of whom can read and write. The dominant class are the 
Dutch, who have become very prosperous, but the natives are 
practically peons and serfs, the policy of the government being 
to retain them in this condition. 

The natives are inferior to the Japanese, Chinese or the Fili- 
pinos and are content to remain in ignorance and in inferior po- 
sitions. Nearly all of them are of the laboring class. They are 
small of stature, of the distinct Malay type, being yellow and 
dark in color, and are docile, quiet, indolent and thriftless. But 
under the management of the Dutch whom they address as mas- 
ters, they are made profitable in the cultivation of the soil and in 
other places of manual labor. The policy of the Netherlands gov- 
ernment is to retain them in industrial positions purely. The 
men wear handkerchiefs on their heads and most of the men are 
bare to the waist, but wear loose trousers of bright or variegated 
colors. Many of them, both men and women, envelop the limbs in 
a skirt of brilliant colors called a Sarong, and the better to do 
wear bright shawls gracefully folded about their bodies. The 
little children are robed in nature's garb only. 

GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL. 

The island lies four hundred miles south of the Equator and is 
a narrow strip of land running from north to south, and is six 



Java, the Beautiful. 211 

hundred miles long by an average of about eighty wide. It is 
mountainous almost all over, and is said to contain more extinct 
volcanoes than any other part of the earth's surface of equal size. 
Some of these volcanoes are still active, but not seriously so. 
In 1883 one of them, Krakatao, in an adjoining island erupted, 
killing thirty-six thousand people. It is said to have been heard 
two thousand miles distant, and its smoke arose many miles. 
There have been no dangerous volcanic eruptions for several 
years. The lava from these volcanoes is said to have greatly en- 
riched the soil and made it one of the most fertile spots upon the 
earth's surface. The valleys and many of the mountains, even to 
their summits, are cultivated. The heavy rainfall and the equable 
climate — the average temperature being about 82 and rarely rising 
above 90 or falling below 75 — make it seasonable the year around 
and causes it to yield enormous crops. The mountains and val- 
leys, ever green with luxuriant tropical vegetation, render it one 
of the most picturesque and beautiful countries in the world. 
The climate, except in mid-summer, is delightful. 

PRODUCTS. 

The chief product is sugar, of which about i,2CK),ooo tons are 
exported yearly. Formerly coffee was the leading industry. But 
the competition of Brazilian coffee and the fact that an article of 
as good quality cannot be grown as formerly has caused the cul- 
ture to have fallen off considerably. Tea is grown in large quan- 
tities as are rice, tapioca, beans, cinnamon, rubber, tobacco, nut- 
megs, indigo and vegetable cotton. Java produces eighty per cent 
of all the quinine consumed in the w^orld. We had the privilege 
of visiting a quinine or cinchona forest and taking a dose by 
chewing a piece of the bark. The trees grow upon the mountain 



212 Ai'ound the World. 

sides at an elevation of two or three thousand feet above the sea 
level. They are about the size of an ordinary Missouri sapling, 
and the bark is not unlike a paw paw or a water maple. It is 
nearly as bitter as the powder itself, which is ground out of it 
after the bark has been well dried. The adjacent country is ma- 
larial. We suffered the night previous to our visit to the forest 
from a slight attack of malaria, and were glad to chew the bark 
the next morning. It is probable that the discovery by the natives 
of the value of the bark as an antidote led to its manufacture into 
a medicine. 

SOME FACTS AS TO SUGAR. 

Great fortunes are made in sugar, the plantations being largely 
under the control of wealthy Dutch corporations in Holland. The 
Chinese also have done a considerable business in this line. There 
are about i8o large sugar plantations upon the island. They yield 
an average of about ten thousand tons each. The cost of manu- 
facture is about thirty-two dollars a ton, and the market price of 
the sugar is about thirty-nine dollars. I obtained these facts from 
the manager of one of the largest plantations upon the island. 
This plantation comprises 3,400 acres, and employs 10,000 labor- 
ers, who are paid ten cents gold per day each. Last year the 
plantation yielded a net profit of $230,000 or seventy dollars per 
acre. There are seven large factories upon the plantation, where 
sugar is refined, and shipped chiefly to Europe. The land is not 
owned by the managers. All the rice and sugar lands are owned 
by the neighboring villages, b}- all the people in common, a ma- 
jority of whom decide to whom and upon what terms the lands 
shall be rented. And the rental price is then paid in equal pro- 
portions to all the residents of the village, who spend it as quickly 



Java, the Beautiful. 213 

as they get it, and are anxious to rent, so that the planters have 
no trouble in driving a bargain. 

FRUITS. 

Java has some delightful fruits peculiar to itself and adjoining 
islands. Chief of these is the mangosteen, a luscious fruit about 
the size of a peach, but with a tough dark purple skin, which when 
cut open reveals a pure white interior the shape of an orange, and 
with similar divisions to the latter in one of which is a seed. The 
fruit melts in the mouth and is most palatable. Indefinite quanti- 
ties can be eaten. It is so delicate and perishable that it can be 
taken but a short distance from Java. The late Queen Victoria 
is said to have kept a standing offer of thirty pounds for one of 
them, but although repeated efforts were made to convey her one, 
no refrigerating process could preserve it that distance. Another 
fruit almost as good as the mangosteen is the rambutan. Its 
coating is bristly or hairy, of a bright red and of about the same 
size as the mangosteen. The interior is gelatinous both in sub- 
stance and appearance and of the shape of a small bird's egg. 
It is a strong rival of the mangosteen. Another popular fruit is 
the doekue, resembling the apricot in color, but of different flavor 
and pulpy. The banana grows in great quantities, and is to our 
judgment Java's best fruit. There are many other fruits. The 
apple and peach and strawberry and raspberry are not grown, but 
according to the taste of this writer have a finer flavor and are in 
all respects preferable to any tropical fruit. 

TREES AND BOTANICAL GARDEN, 

The feature of Java which most impresses the visitor is the 
luxuriance of its vegetation. He feels he is indeed in the tropics 



214 Around the World. 

when if he is from the temperate zones he for the first time be- 
holds a profusion of trees and plants such as he has only seen 
heretofore in picture books or in the illustrated magazines. We 
thought we had seen tropical vegetation in the Hawaiian Islands, 
but that country is not to be compared with what one beholds in 
Java. The scene here is what has heretofore dwelt in our im- 
agination of the Garden of Eden. For instance in front of our 
hotel stands a banyan tree, with probably a hundred branches 
rooted in the ground, and at least forty feet in diameter. Trees a 
hundred and a hundred and fifty feet high are everywhere. Palms 
of which there are said to be 350 distinct varieties, and bam- 
boo of which there are a hundred different kinds, constitute a 
large part of the enormous forests which are being well pre- 
served, because but little wood is needed for fuel and it does not 
require a great deal of lumber to build houses. 

At Beutzenzorg, seventy miles south of Batavia, is a gov- 
ernmental botanical garden, said to be the finest in the world, 
and constantly visited by botanists from all sections of 
the globe. Every known tropical tree is here grown. To 
show how trees will grow the manager of the garden, Herr 
Wigman, showed us one, the Alberia Moluccana, looking 
something like a Missouri ash, that had grown to fifteen 
inches in diameter and eighty feet in height in five years. 
There is a vine in the garden which is two feet in diameter and 
three hundred feet in length. Rattan vines of great length wind 
around the branches of huge trees like serpents. There is a water 
plant from the Amazon which lies flat upon the water, is the 
shape of a pie-pan and is five feet in diameter. It will support the 
weight of a child. It has a large white bloom, which turns red 
at night. It is called the Victoria Regina. There is also to be 



Java, the Beautiful. 215 

seen there the papyrus, from which paper is made; orchids of 
great variety and beauty and other plants and trees too numerous 
to be mentioned. We who Hve in the higher latitudes have no 
conception of that profusion of vegetation to be seen in the tro- 
pics. Among all the trees here there are none of those to be found 
in our section, not even the pine, except near the mountain tops. 

COFFEE AND TEA. 

The coffee and tea plantations are in the uplands or upon the 
mountain sides. The plants are about three feet high and the 
spectacle of hundreds of the native laborers robed in bright colors 
of green and yellow and red and white, plucking the berries 
from the coffee bushes with the green upon the mountain side as 
a background is a pretty picture. But neither tea nor coffee is 
regarded as profitable as sugar and rice, which grow in the low 
lands upon lands rented from the villagers. The coffee and tea 
lands can be leased for seventy-five years from the government. 

CITIES AND TEMPLES. 

There are three principal cities in Java. Batavia, the largest 
and the capital at the north end, Surabaya, the principal shipping 
point at the south end, and Samarang upon the east coast. There 
are many smaller cities and villages. But unlike the Chinese and 
Japanese the natives are scattered considerably over the rural dis- 
tricts and do not congregate in the cities. In the center of the 
island are the ruins of one of the finest Buddhist temples in the 
world. It is is known as Borob Bodoer, and is twelve centuries 
old. It is pyramidal in shape, and built in the form of terraces, 
there being eight stories, and the carvings upon the stone are very 
artistic, and said to convey an intelligent histor}^ of the period 



216 Ai-ound the World. 

when the temple was built. Nearby are hundreds of other 
temples also in ruins, for Buddhism many centuries ago ceased 
to be the religion of the Javanese, and these temples, once par- 
tially destroyed, were only exhumed in recent centuries. 



XXVIII. 
THE GARDEN SPOT OF THE WORLD. 

Island of Java, February 29, 1908. 
A conifortable railroad runs from one end of Java to the other, 
enabHng the traveler to acquire a good idea of the country and the 
people. It starts from Batavia, the capital of the Dutch Indies, a 
beautiful city of over two hundred thousand people, with broad 
asphalt and macadam streets, handsome pubHc buildings, and the 
best stores and hotels we have seen in the orient. The residences 
are one story, of white color, with broad porches, the roofs of 
which are supported by large white Corinthian pillars, in front of 
which are broad lawns, with graveled walks well kept. They in- 
dicate wealth and refinement and are such structures as can be 
seen only in the tropics. Flowing through Batavia is a river, 
branching from which are canals, which from early morning until 
dark are lined with people laundering clothes, or bathing them- 
selves or their horses all in the same place. The banks of these 
canals and the river are sodded with a rich green grass and the 
water is reached by stone stairways. There are frequent bridges 
across the streams. Everywhere in the streets and out into the 
country along the roads are throngs of people, bearing vegetables 
to market. This steady stream of humanity, clad in the bright 
colors of the tropics, with the green background of the fields 
and the dark overhanging noble trees, which span the roadways, 
present an artistic and picturesque effect more beautiful than can 
be described. Java claims the finest roadways in the world. They 
extend all over the island, are smooth macadam, from fifty to sev- 
enty-five feet wide, almost everywhere arched with trees a hun- 
dred feet in height through which strug^gle rifts of sunshine and 

(217) 



*t3fe' 



218 Around the World. 

which are ever vocal with the songs of birds. They are ideal for 
automobiles, of which there are many and the absence of many 
horses adds to the comfort of automobile traveling. American 
horses do not thrive here. Neither do those from Australia, al- 
though many fine specimens of the latter may be seen. The na- 
tive horse, a diminutive specimen a little over three feet high, is 
the hardiest equine in the world. Their drivers are merciless and 
the loads they can pull, their endurance, and the speed at which 
they can travel are almost incredible. The chief beasts of burden 
outside of these little horses is the water buffalo. There are no 
mules or donkeys. Farm implements are primitive, a single 
straight stick or piece of iron serving for a plow. Houses of the 
natives are one story, built of bamboo, and are almost bare of 
furniture. The people live chiefly on rice and the native vegeta- 
bles. 

RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS. 

In religion the natives are almost universally Mohammedan. 
We have been to no country where Christianity has made as little 
impression. There are a few Catholic cathedrals, and some 
Dutch reform organizations, but we heard of only one Protestant 
American or Methodist Missionary on the island. His name is 
Dennis, and he is well named so far as any good he can do — un- 
aided. There is no country in the world which is in greater need 
of mission work. Not only are the natives steeped in heathenism, 
but the Europeans who are here are equally as indififerent to 
Christianity. Many of them never were in a church, and the few 
who go do so but two or three times a year. We arrived in Ba- 
tavia on Sunday morning and inquired for a church. We were 
evidently looked upon as a curiosity, but we succeeded at last in 
finding a little church of England, where we attended a service 
in which there were only fourteen others besides ourselves. We 



The Garden Spot of the World. 219 

were informed that this is the only Protestant church outside of 
the Dutch Refomi on the island. It is due to the people to say- 
that they are not immoral. They do not indulge in any forms 
of intemperance, except that of opium, and even to this habit they 
are not largely addicted. I observed that the teeth of many of the 
people were black and upon inquiry discovered it was caused by 
them chewing a small red substance called Betel nut which causes 
them to expectorate a liquid as red as blood, and which discolors 
their teeth. 

SOCIAL LIFE, 

The social lines between the Europeans and the natives are al- 
most as definitely drawn as in America between the white peo- 
ple and the negroes and the problem of the relations between the 
two races much the same. There is a wide contrast between the 
treatment of the Javanese by the Dutch and that of the Filipinos 
by the Americans. The theory of the United States in the admin- 
istration of the Philippines is to help the people. The policy of 
the Dutch in Java is to help themselves. The Philippine admin- 
istration is one of elevation of the natives; the Javanese that of 
repression. The United States is dealing with the Filipinos on a 
philanthropic basis. Holland for three hundred years has pro- 
ceeded in Java upon commerical and selfish lines purely. While 
the Javanese have necessarily been benefited by this contact with 
a superior race yet in three hundred years they have not made the 
progress that the Filipinos have made under the elevating influ- 
ences of the United States in ten years. The cheap labor and the 
rich soil have resulted in making many Hollanders immensely 
wealthy. While most of this wealth has gone to the Netherlands 
there are many rich people here and the social life in Java among 
the Dutch is of a hie^h order. 



220 Around the World. 

By the courtesy of the American Consul, 'Mr. Rairdin, we had 
the pleasure of attending a social function at the Concordia or Mil- 
itary Club in Batavia. Nowhere have we seen a finer social af- 
fair. The music by the band was of the best classic character, the 
equipages costly and the costumes equal to those to be found 
in the largest cities of the world. Probably a thousand people 
were present, and the entertainment was in the open air and 
in the spacious club building. It was difficult to realize that such 
a scene of social gaiety, such an exhibition of culture and 
wealth was taking place over thirteen thousand miles from the 
great social centers of Europe and America. While there were 
some half castes present we did not notice a full-blooded Javanese 
in the entire company. I have met and talked with many rep- 
resentative citizens, the Dutch, as they with pride call themselves, 
and have been much impressed with their intelligence, refine- 
ment and force of character. 

WHAT THEY WEAR AND EAT. 

The people dress to keep cool. In the early morning about the 
hotels the men go about in pajamas, and the women in Sarongs 
of variegated colors, both minus hosiery. While this is somewhat 
shocking to people from milder climates it has the element of com- 
fort. During the day the men almost without exception wear 
white duck suits, sacc[ue coats and trousers, and white shoes and 
straw hats. It is the most becoming as well as the most comfort- 
able dress ever devised for men. The women dress tastefully in 
white dresses of a light material. These white clothes of the 
Europeans and the bright colored garments of the natives as they 
move about over the green lawns and through the dense tropical 
plants present a color scheme that is as unique as it is animated 
and beautiful. 



The Garden Spot of the World. 221 

In their homes the natives live upon rice and vegetables. But 
the Europeans add to the tropical fruits and other products all 
varieties of meat to be found in the tropics. They are delight- 
fully cooked and served. Beef, veal, pork, chicken, ham, eggs are 
in great profusion, and there is a prodigality of pepper and 
spices and other condiments. As everywhere else in the orient 
there is an absence of milk and cream, but the butter which 
comes from Australia is of a fine quality. The cow does not flour- 
ish in Asia. The rinderpest and other diseases render her as a 
milk producer impracticable. I have seen more cows in Java 
than elsewhere, but they do not appear to yield milk and butter. 

THE RICE TABLE,. 

We have met with one dish in Java which has been both a nov- 
elty and a wonder. It is called "The Ryst Tafel," or in English 
"The Rice Table." It is served in a soup plate and contains the 
following ingredients : 

Rice, • Pepper, 

Maize, Cucumbers, 

Bacon, Shrimp. 

Nuts, Extract of Beans, 

Fried Bananas, Indian Fruits, 

Fried Eggs, Native Beans, 

Salt Eggs, Roots, 

Currie of several ingredients, Salt, 

Stewed meats, Small Fish (fried). 

Fricadelle, Smothered and Smoked 

Chicken. 

It will be observed that there are twenty-three articles of 
food in the above list. These are brought to the table one at a 
time and served upon one dish to the guest, and marvelous to say 



222 Around the World. 

are eaten by him. When 1 tell you that the writer of this took 
and ate them three days in succession and survived them you 
may no doubt be amazed, but you will be assured of the fact that 
there need be no apprehensions as to his health while traveling in 
the tropics. Among other good things that this climate does is to 
impart an appetite that is miraculous. What adds to his capacity 
to accomplish such a gastronomic feat is the excellent manner in 
which food is cooked and the tempting way in which it is served. 

THE HOTELS. 

The hotel at which we are stopping in Batavia is easily the 
best we have found since we left America. The grounds cover 
several acres, and the rooms instead of being in one building are 
in rows fronting an arcade built in a quadrangle. Each room has 
a bath attached, the floors are of tiling and all the conditions are 
the perfection of sanitation and cleanliness. The meals from 
soup to dessert are excellent, and the after-dinner coffee has 
no equal. Instead of coffee being served as elsewhere only the 
extracts or about a tablespoonful is placed in the bottom of the 
cup, which is filled up with hot milk. The extract is a thick, al- 
most pasty fluid, but the result is the best cup of coffee imagin- 
able. The hotel grounds are laid off in attractive walks set with 
tropical trees. A stroll among w'hich in the early morning or in 
the evening makes one feel glad he is alive. Notwithstanding these 
expensive accommodations the rates are the cheapest we have 
found in the orient, being only about three dollars gold a day. 
Hotels are usually a fair index to a country. This being true 
Java must rank first among countries. We understand the hotels 
are of similar character in most of the Dutch Indies. 



The Garden Spot of the World. 223 

CROSSING THE EQUATOR. 

In coming to Java we crossed the equator. The event occurred 
about dark at fifteen minutes before seven o'clock on the evenine 
of February 21. We tried to arrange the transit so as to have it 
happen on Washington's birthday so that two great events might 
occur simultaneously. But we could not persuade the captain to 
hold the ship back and the days had to come in succession. We 
could perceive no mark on either the sky or ocean and no peculiar- 
ity in the atmosphere except that the evening was cool and pleas- 
ant and we dropped into a grateful state of mind and a silent 
prayer that our friends in our far away home might feel as peace- 
ful and contented as did we, as under the deep blue and amid the 
gentle hush of a tropical night we sailed quietly over the equator 
across the tropical sea. 



XXIX. 
ODDS AND ENDS OF ORIENTAL TRAVEL. 

ON BOARD BRITISH-INDIA STEAMER IN BAY OF BENGAL, 

March 3, 1908, 
This letter is written not to relate anything specially new 
that has occurred since the last one, but because conditions are 
favorable for writing it, and in order to pick up some facts that 
were omitted from former letters. We are enroute from Java to 
Calcutta, a distance of twenty-five hundred miles. Distances 
from place to place in the orient are twice or three times what 
they are in America and Europe. But the conditions of travel 
are in some respects more desirable. The accommodations upon 
the steamers are not quite as good, but comfortable, but the steam- 
ers are not so crowded. For instance, upon this one there are 
but two other passengers outside our party. Of the fourteen 
steamers we have been upon it has been true of five of them that 
we have been practically the only passengers. This has been due 
to several causes. There is much less travel in the orient than 
between Europe and America. The freight demands are far in 
excess of the passenger. Then there is no doubt but that the 
business depression, which is world-wide, has affected travel seri- 
ously. But the courtesy of the captains and other officials and the 
service are all that could be asked. As we are now about half way 
around the world it is a pleasure to note that we have not met 
with a single discourtesy from any one dealing with the traveling 
public, either at hotels, railroads, steamships, or elsewhere. We 
have received numberless attentions and formed hundreds of 
friendships which we will carry as a pleasant memory through 
life. This trip from Java to Calcutta is through the Straits of 

(224) 



Oriental Travel. 225 

Malacca and the Bay of Bengal, the smoothest waters upon 
which we have traveled. The ports at which we stop are Singa- 
pore, Penang, and Rangoon, and the time consumed in the trip in- 
cluding a week which we will spend at Rangoon and Mandalay is 
eighteen days. 

SUMATRA, MALACCA, BURMAH. 

The Straits of Malacca lie between the island of Sumatra upon 
the west and the Malay Peninsula on the east. Sumatra is the 
largest of the Dutch Indies, is similar in characteristics 
and products to Java, but is much more sparsely set- 
tled and not in so advanced a state of development. It is an 
inviting field. The Malay States are devoted now chiefly to the 
production of tin and rubber. They are said to yield three-fourths 
of the tin of the world. But there has been a great slump in the 
price of that article, and many business failures have resulted. 
Business is at a standstill in Singapore, Malacca and Penang, its 
chief cities. This industry has been largely in the hands of the 
Chinese, and present conditions have the appearance of having 
been brought about by a concerted movement on the part of 
British financiers to freeze out the Chinamen, who are practically 
overrunning this part of the world. They are better business men 
than the natives, but hardly able to cope with the English, who 
it seems now, have them on the hip. We have found business very 
dull all over the orient. The financial panic in America is being 
felt throughout the world. 

PENANG. 

We spent yesterday at Penang, four hundred miles north of 
Singapore, and next to the latter the largest city of the Malay 
States. It contains a population of over a hundred thousand, 
15 



226 Around the World. 

largely Chinese, but with many natives and Europeans, has one 
of the finest Botanical gardens in the east, and the roadways in 
the adjoining country are equal to those at Java. The stately 
cocoanut palms are grown in quantities. They are about a hun- 
dred feet in height, the branches and cocoanuts being fully eighty 
feet from the ground. We hired a native to climb this distance 
and cut of? a couple of cocoanuts, which he did with the agility of 
a monkey, which he somewhat resembles. The natives are jet 
black and their only dress is a clout folded around their loins. 
The cocoanuts grow to a large size, and at this season are filled 
with water, which those who are afraid of germs drink in prefer- 
ence to that to be found in the hotels. The streets in Penang 
are wide and of macadam, the public buildings large and of fine 
architecture, and the hotels are good. The next country to the 
north of the Malay Peninsula is Burmah, the chief city of which 
is Rangoon, where we will stop within three days. 

THE KING OF FRUITS. 

The tropics not only claim the king of beasts, but the king of 
fruits also. Its name is Durian. Externally it resembles the 
osage orange. Powerful as is the king of beasts, he is even ex- 
ceeded in strength by the king of fruits. For while the lion can 
only make his strength felt at close range, the Durian can wield a 
power from one end of a large steamship to the other. Its smell 
is something tremendous. Yet it is regarded a delicacy," and not 
without cause. Like olives, or oysters, or crabs, or lobsters, or 
divers salads, or cheese and other fashionable food, to eat it is 
said to require a cultivated taste. But be this as it may, we ac- 
cepted an invitation from the captain to partake of one with him 
before breakfast, and we did it and still live. The other mem- 
bers of our party fled from it in terror. Its flavor is a kind of 



Oriental Travel. 227 

combination of garlic, asafoetida and limburg-er cheese, in an ad- 
vanced stage of decomposition. I wrote you in my last of having 
eaten "The Rice Table." And now having disposed of a Durian, 
you must agree that since leaving America I have developed the 
appetite of a tramp and the digestion of a Malay. Candidly speak- 
ing, notwithstanding the tropics are considered the home of fruits 
and flowers, I do not think that in either they are to be com- 
pared to the temperate climes. The fruits lack flavor and the 
flowers are without fragrance. There is not a fruit in the tropics 
to compare in delicacy of taste with the peach, or apple, or pear, 
nor a flower as sweet-scented as the rose, or geranium, or the 
violet, or the heliotrope. The mangosteen, rambutan and other 
fruits here are juicy, full of water but flabby and insipid, while 
there are no oranges equal to those of California or Florida. The 
fruits, like the people of the tropics, are distinctly inferior to those 
of the northern latitudes. 

AS TO MONEY. 

One of the harassing experiences of the traveller in foreign 
lands is the change in money and its value in every country. He 
does not get acquainted with its value in one before he goes to the 
next, where he is at the mercy of the money changer in the mat- 
ter of discounts. By the time these sharks are through with him 
he is so bewildered that he does not know whether he has any 
money or not. In every country, except in the Philippines, the na- 
tional dollar is a little more or less than half the value of the Am- 
erican dollar. In Japan it is the yen (49 cents) ; in China the Mex- 
ican dollar (46 cents); in the Philippines the peso (50 cents); in 
the Straits Settlements a dollar (60 cents) ; in Java the gulden (40 
cents); in India the rupee (32 cents). The values of each ex- 



228 Around the World. 

cept in the Philippines are constantly changing, but this does not 
benefit the helpless traveller who is made to pay the highest gold 
price for everything he buys. While some articles of local manu- 
facture are cheaper, those of foreign production are higher, and 
we find prices to be increasing the farther west we go. 

As to hotels, their rates are the highest we have found any- 
where in the world. And their conveniences are poorer. The 
fare is inferior, there are rarely any elevators, the plumbing is 
indifferent, and an extra charge is made for fires, ice, and many 
things always included in the rates of an American hotel. Busi- 
ness is conducted upon a more parsimonious scale than in America. 

AS TO CLIMATE. 

Within the past week we have traveled four hundred miles 
south and four hundred north of the equator. We have, there- 
fore, been in the heart of the tropics. Instead of finding the cli- 
mate intensely hot as we had anticipated it has proven very pleas- 
ant. While it is quite hot in the sun, in the shade it is cool and the 
nights are delightful. A gentle breeze stirs continually, and there 
is not that suggestion of malaria found in our part of the globe. 
One can sleep all night without covering or blankets or even sheets 
and yet remain comfortable. 

A MISSOURIAN IN A GOOD WORK. 

Since leaving China and the Philippines the absence of Ameri- 
cans and especially of Missourians is ver}^ noticeable. It was 
therefore a pleasure to find a former citizen of W^est Plains, Mis- 
souri, Mr. Kingsley E. Pease, in charge of an Anglo-Chinese 
school in Singapore. It is under the control of the American 
School of the M. E. Church north, and has thirtv-three teachers 



Oriental Travel. 229 

and 1,200 boys, who are carried through a course equal to the 
third grade in the high schools of Missouri. We visited the 
several departments and were much impressed with the fine pro- 
gress exhibited by the pupils. 

We have met another gentleman here in this distant clime who 
has brought back memories not only of our far away home but of 
the long ago. In the trip of six days from Hong Kong to Sing- 
apore we sat near a nice looking man and his wife. After two 
or three days we became acquainted, when to our gratification 
we discovered that he formerly visited Columbia regularly as a 
traveling salesman of a Boston house. He had not been there 
for forty years but remembered people and events perfectly. His 
name is Baldwin and he is in a large business in Sydney, Aus- 
tralia. He is one of numerous persons we have met under strange 
conditions who have had some connection with Missouri in years 
past, all going to prove that the world is not so very big at last. 

MUSEUMS. 

Both at Singapore and Batavia we visited museums of much 
interest. They contained not only fine biological collections of the 
flora and fauna of this region, but relics of the bygone ages 
indicative of the warlike, barbarous, and primitive life of the 
people. In one of them we saw crude wooden musical instru- 
ments and a chair with sharp knives in the back and seat where 
prisoners were cruelly tortured and executed, besides many rare 
coins, crowns and chairs of gold, articles of dress and curios 
which were of rare value and interest. 




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IN BURMAH—Foiir Hundred and Fifty Buddhist Pagodas at Mandalay— Elephant 

in Park in Rangoon — Burman Jf'oman Smoking Cigarette — 

Buddhist Pagodas in Rangoon 



INDIA. 



XXX. 

INDIA. 

Rangoon^ Burmah, March 6, 1908. 
As one travels around the world he is overwhelmed by the mag- 
nitude of Great Britain as a world power. From the time he 
passes the vicinity of Australia, itself nearly as large as the Unit- 
ed States, until he touches Canada, a territory still larger, he not 
only has verification of the fact which he has heard oft repeated 
that upon the possessions of the British empire the sun never 
sets, but he also discovers that this little nation not twice as large 
as the State of Missouri controls one-fifth of the surface of the 
earth and sways dominion over one-fourth of the human race. 
Nowhere is its power more manifest than in Asia, Among its 
Asiatic possessions by far its greatest is India. For three hun- 
dred years it has been gradually increasing its domain in central 
Asia until now it controls in India alone an area of 1,800,000 
square miles, or half that of the United States, containing a 
population of nearly three hundred millions of people, nearly one- 
fifth of the inhabitants of the earth. As we are about to enter 
this, in many respects the most interesting, but on account of its 
remoteness from the centers of civilization, one of the least known 
countries in the world, we will, at the risk of being prosy, devote 
the prefatory letter to some facts of a historical and statistical 
nature, which have deeply interested us, and we believe will inter- 
est others, for however intelligent the average reader may be he 
is not apt to be thoroughly informed as to India. These facts will 
also render of more interest the notes of travel that may follow. 

(233) 



234 Around the World. 

HISTORICAL. 

About the first authentic information we have of India is the 
invasion of it by Alexander the Great over three hundred years 
before Christ. The country afterwards passed successively under 
the dominion of the Scythians, the Arabs and the Persians and 
for over a thousand years was the abode of barbarism, the most 
degraded and yet marked by the most brilliant display of regal 
splendor, and the erection of the most remarkable palaces, temples 
and other buildings in the history of the world. Some of them 
yet remain and in architectural beauty and lavish expenditure in 
construction have no parallels. As time passed the value of the 
country commercially, its extended domain and rich resources, 
began to attract the attention of European nations. First, the 
Portuguese got a foothold upon its territory, but England, which 
has ever had an eye open to such opportunities, began early in the 
sixteenth century by conquest and treaty to secure control of 
the country until now she is practically in undisputed possession 
of this vast domain. 

THE GOVERNMENT. 

India is divided into thirteen provinces and territorial divisions, 
which are under the direct control of Great Britain. The capital 
is at Calcutta, where resides the Governor-General, appointed by 
the King of England, and who, in connection with a legislative 
council of nine also appointed by the King, is both the executive 
and legislative head of the empire. Each of the thirteen provinces 
or territories has either a governor or a commissioner or agent and 
a legislative council similar to that in control of the emi^ire. In 
addition to these thirteen provinces there are 680 native or feuda- 
torv States in subordinate alliance with or under the suzeraintv 



India. 235 

of the King of England. These comprise about two-fifths of the 
empire and one-fifth of the population and are controlled by petty 
native rulers, or Maharajahs, each one of whom has an English 
adviser, who is the real power behind the throne, the authority of 
the native governors being largely nominal. But this keeps the 
natives satisfied and flatters the vanity of the rulers who are paid 
good salaries and encouraged in their fondness for display. It 
is a shrewd stroke of British diplomacy and chicane. 

THE ARMY AND CIVIL SERVICE, 

In order to keep everything quiet and in running condition there 
is a standing army of over 233,000, of which 75,000 are British 
soldiers and 158,000 natives. There is also a reserve force of 
some seventy thousand, which is only called for in emergencies. 
There is therefore a total available army of about 300,000, to mam- 
tain which costs the empire about a hundred million dollars a 
year. The support of the civil service also involves an outlay of 
another hundred millions. There are five and a half millions of 
people engaged in military and civil service and as a large propoi- 
tion of these are Britishers the British government has at least 
one very good reason for holding on to India. It gives jobs to 
their surplus of unemployed at home. All the money to pay this 
enormous list of officials is collected from the empire itself. In- 
stead of the home government defraying the expense of the 
army as the United States does in the Philippines it not only im- 
poses that expense upon its English subjects but it exacts from 
them an additional hundred millions to pay divers expenditures 
connected with its administration of Indian affairs at home. No 
wonder that the deepest poverty prevails among the natives and 
that they perish as they did in 1906 at the rate of five millions a 
year from famine and plague. 



236 Around the World. 

RESOURCES. 

At least two-thirds of the population depend upon agriculture. 
The chief product is rice, thirty-one per cent of the land 'being de- 
voted to its culture and ten per cent to wheat. Cotton, barley, 
millet and tea are grown in great quantities. The chief export 
is jute, and the other principal exports in the order of their quanti- 
ty are raw cotton, rice, manufactured jute, hides and skins, tea, 
opium and wheat and flour. The total value of exports is six hun- 
dred million dollars and of imports five hundred millions. Seven- 
ty-five per cent of the foreign trade is done at Calcutta and 
Bombay. In 1906 nearly ten thousand vessels cleared to for- 
eign ports. 

REVENUES. 

The total revenues are over two hundred millions of dollars of 
which one-half is from the rentals or lease of land. The govern- 
ment owns all the land and leases it for short or long periods. 
It also has a monopoly of the opium business from which it re- 
ceives a total net revenue of fifteen millions of dollars a year. 
Its other sources of revenue are from taxes on sale of stamps, 
incomes, customs, excise, registration and from the provinces. All 
incomes of over $330 and under $660 are taxed two per cent, and 
all incomes over $660 are taxed two and a half per cent. 

EDUCATION. 

While England imposes a tax of a hundred millions upon the 
natives to support an army and another hundred to pay the ex- 
penses of a government to keep them good she only expends about 
seventeen millions upon their education, and this amount is col- 
lected in tuition fees and by taxation of the people. There are 



India. 237 

160,434 educational institutions attended by 5,242,040 pupils, of 
whom only 604,050 are females. In the empire only one male in 
ten and one female in 144 can read and write, a record that shows 
that education does not proceed far, especially among the women. 
In fact, woman is in a condition of practical slavery. There are 
large universities at Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and Allahabad at- 
tended chiefly by the rich. 

RELIGION. 

Of the population 207,147,026 or seventy per cent are Hindus, 
62,458,077 or 21 per cent are Mohammedans, 9,476,759 or three 
per cent are Buddhists and 2,923,241, or one per cent are Chris- 
tians. The latter are chiefly in Madras and Burmah. Christiani- 
ty gets most of its converts from the Hindus. Its hardest work 
is with the Mohammedans. But the missionaries are much en- 
couraged and believe that as in China there will soon be a great 
turning of the people to the true faith. 

HOSPITALS AND PRISONS. 

There are over twenty-four hundred hospitals and dispensaries 
in India. They have done a great work for the people both in 
alleviation of suffering and in supplanting ignorance and super- 
stition with skill and science in the treatment of disease. The 
lack of sanitation in many cities is very conducive to contagious 
diseases, millions dying annually from plague, cholera, fevers and 
other infections. There are said to be a million lepers in the 
country. During 1906 there were 22,000 deaths by snake bites. 
The religion of many of the people will not permit them to kill 
animals of any kind. There is a complete system of courts, the 
judges being appointed by the British government. There are 



238 Ai'ound the World. 

741 prisons in which are incarcerated nearly a million prisoners. 
Many crimes are punishable with death and the annual number of 
executions is large. 

RAILWAYS AND MAXUFACTORIES. 

There are in the empire thirty thousand miles of railway which 
cost over twelve hundred millions of dollars, and yielded over 
seventy millions of dollars of net income last year, or about six 
per cent. Nearly all the railroads and telegraph lines are owned 
by the government, and the railroad rates are low. The rail- 
ways are operated by a board appointed by the government. India 
is short on manufactories, most of its imports being manufactured 
goods, but it has 210 cotton mills, 37 jute mills, six woolen mills, 
and 37 breweries. Some of the population are inclined to taice 
to beer and to whiskey also, wdiich in drinking they mingle to- 
gether. There are two kinds of European missionaries. One 
brings Christianity, and the other brings all they can to counteract 
it. 

CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES. 

There are twenty-eight cities in India with a population of over 
one hundred thousand, and forty-nine with a population of be- 
tween fifty and one hundred thousand. The largest city is Cal- 
cutta, the capital, with 1,100,000 inhabitants. The next largest 
is Bombay with about a million. Next, in size is Aladras, which 
contains five hundred thousand. Lucknow has 264,000. Ran- 
goon, 234,881, and Benares^ Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Cawnpore, 
Alandalay and Allahabad have about 200,000 each. There are in 
the empire 749 municipalities in which 16,670,770 people dwell. 

WILD ANIMALS. 

The fiercest, rarest and most dangerous animals in the world 
infest the jungles of India. Among these are elephants, tigers^ 



India. 239 

leopards, panthers, hyenas, jackals, crocodiles, deer, bison, tapirs, 
rhinoceroses, squirrels, monkeys and snakes, the last-named of 
the largest and most poisonous kinds. Many of these animals, 
according to the religion of the natives, are sacred, and this fact 
together with the law against the people carrying fire-arms, has 
caused them to multiply and make the rural districts a paradise 
for sportsmen. The domestic animals are the cow, ox, goat, dog, 
cat, horse, donkey and water buffalo. 

THE CLIMATE, RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS. 

India extends from the heart of the tropics, where the lands 
are flat and the heat intense, almost to the temperate zones where 
it reaches the Himalayas which stretch for fifteen hundred miles 
along its northern border, and rise to heights of over twenty- 
nine thousand feet, twelve thousand feet above the line of eternal 
snow, and twice the altitude of Pike's Peak. Among them is Mt. 
Everest, 29,141 feet, the highest mountain in the world, and upon 
which the cold is intense even in summer. Flowing from these 
mountains as their sources are four great rivers, which distribute 
their waters to all parts of northern India — the Indus, the Brah- 
maputra, the Ganges and the Sutlej. Under the system of irriga- 
tion being introduced and constantly developed these rivers are 
destined to insure permanent and reliable agricultural conditions 
and preserve the country from the fearful famines that periodical- 
ly bring starvation to millions of the people. 



XXXI. 

IN THE LAND OF THE PAGODAS. 

Rangoon, Burmah, March lo, 1908. 

Burmah is not usually counted part of India. But it is. A 
hundred years ago, Great Britain began its characteristic process 
of acquisition of the country and finished it twenty-three years 
since. It then assumed possession, and took the Burmese king, 
Thibaw, and his two brutal wives prisoners, and has so held them 
since in a town named Ratnigiri near Bombay, where they are 
sustained in fine style. From 1885 to the present Burmah has 
been one of the provinces of India, and is governed as are the 
other provinces. It is the best piece of property the English have 
in the East. It is four times the size of the State of Missouri, 
and has three times the population. It is less thickly settled than 
any country we have visited. It is flat and fertile, has immense 
forests and its chief product is rice. It grows most of the tropical 
fruits, and vegetables. The palm and the banana are in evidence 
to give a tropical aspect to the landscape. 

It has one broad river, half the width and length of the Mis- 
souri. Its name is the Irrawaddy, and upon one of the large 
steamers which float upon it between Mandalay and Rangoon 
this letter is written. The people are dark complected and yellow, 
dress in fantastic garb, with skirts around the lower limbs, and 
handkerchiefs about the heads, while the coolies wear no wrap 
above the waist, and some of them none around the lower limbs. 
There are two distinct elements, the Burmese and the Karens, 
but the population is also a mixed one. The natives are. happy, 
go-lucky, thriftless, and as a result the Chinese, here as else- 
where, are acquiring possession of the business. 

(240) 




v:^ VE^ 




IN BURM AH— Heathen Temple— Buddhisis at Jf'orship—lf'ater Buffalo and Cart- 
Elephant at Jt'ork — Ploicing For Rice 



The Land of the Pagodas. 241 



THE PAGODAS. 

The religion of the people is Buddhistic. No other country is 
as distinctly so, fully ninety per cent of the people being Budd- 
hists. The chief material evidence of this fact is to be found 
in the thousands of pagodas, which are 'to be seen everywhere, 
in cities and villages and along the lines of travel whether by rail 
or river. These pagodas are tasteful structures. They are un- 
like the pagodas in Japan and China, the latter being successive 
stories or galleries of diminishing size, which are reached by 
stairways, and their color is usually a dark red with gilded trim- 
mings. Most of the Burmese pagodas are tent-like in shape, or 
like a bottle with a broad body, and a long and gracefully dimin- 
ishing neck, at the top of which is a ti or umbrella spire of concen- 
tric iron rings from which hang little bells which ring when sway- 
ed by the breeze. Some of them resemble mausoleums like 
Grant's tomb and others are like cathedrals. 

The pagodas are either painted pure white or are covered by 
gold leaf which dazzles in the sun, and near the top of many of 
them encircling the spires are golden bands studded with large 
gems, which flash like diamonds in the sunlight. There are no 
stairways to the top, nor are there usually openings or chambers 
in the base. The structure is a solid mass, supposed, in shape, to 
typify the nomadic life of the people in primitive times when 
they dwelt in tents. They are usually situated in large parks, 
where they are surrounded by numerous smaller pagodas, and by 
buildings in which are statues of Buddha. Also in this area are 
bazaars or stalls, where are exposed to sale all kinds of articles 
of merchandise, fruits and vegetables, and where gather beggars 
and fakirs and fortune tellers and a heterogeneous class. It is 
both a worshipping and a market place. To behold hundreds of 
16 



242 Ai'ound the World. 

these wretched creatures prostrated in worship near by where oth- 
ers are loudly vending their wares reminds one of the scene in 
the temple in Jerusalem, when our Lord drove out the money 
changers for making his house a den of thieves. The statues of 
Buddha are multiplied indefinitely, are all in a sitting posture, 
and some of them are thickly coated with gold. We saw one jet 
black. Some claim that Buddha was a negro. Before them hun- 
dreds may be seen either sitting or kneeling or prone on their faces, 
mumbling prayers, with offerings of flowers or vegetables or other 
articles, while rows of candles burn between them and the image. 
People move about between the worshipers and the idol, talk- 
ing in loud voices, while workmen in some places were busy 
painting the god himself. 

SOME LARGE PAGODAS. 

The largest and finest pagoda in Burmah and in the world is 
the Shwe Dagon in Rangoon. It has a circumference of 1355 feet 
and is 365 feet in height. It stands upon a terrace or mound 160 
feet high. At Mandalay the Arekan and the Eindawgyi pagodas 
are beautiful structures, while the four hundred and fifty pagodas 
gathered at the foot of Mandalay hill are one of the sights of 
the world. These pagodas are not much larger than cottages, 
and are built in avenues in a large space, with a huge pagoda in 
the center. Upon slabs in each are inscribed the laws of Buddha, 
reminding one of the tables of the laws given to Moses. One 
sees many things in the midst of these scenes of idolatry to recall 
the Hebrew worship described in the Old Testament, as well as 
some of the facts recorded in Genesis of the rise and fall of man, 
of paradise and of punishment. At the entrance to each pagoda 
area are fierce figures which suggest the flaming swords and the 



The Land of the Pagodas. 243 

cherubim at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, and there are 
representations of trees as of the tree of Hfe and there are por- 
trayals of places of happiness and of punishment. 

THEIR PICTURESQUENESS AND SIGNIFICANCE — BUDDHISM 

The effect of these 'beautiful architectural piles which adorn 
many of the hills and valleys is pleasing and impressive. The 
architecture embodies grace, s}mmetry and majesty. The genius 
of the artist is manifest. No other country we have seen is 
thus adorned with so many and such beautiful structures. They 
are practically everywhere, in untenanted as well as in inhabited 
sections. They ma}- be seen in the centers of the business districts 
of the cities, and upon lonely mountain tops, or on the uninviting 
flat lands. They are all in honor of Gautama, a Brahmin born be- 
tween five and six hundred years before Christ, and who at the 
age of twenty-nine determined to efiect some reforms in the 
Hindu religion. Although born in high position, he dressed 
himself as a pauper and with only a bcwl of rice, went out into 
the world depending upon charity for a livelihood and giving 
himself up to meditation. At the end of a number of years he 
returned and announced a new religion. It adhered to the Hindu 
theory that the soul passes at death from man to an animal and 
thence from animal to animal, each animal being the abiding 
place of a certain sin until finally when all the sins shall have 
Avorn themselves out in animals he passes into Nirvana, a state 
of blessedness or freedom from sin, or into annihilation. He 
did not teach positive happiness hereafter, but a release from sin 
and suffering in annihilation. He taught punishment for sin in 
that each sin had to be expiated by the soul abiding for a time 
in a certain animal until the animal died. The more sins a man 



244 Around the World. 

had the more animals he became successively after death. The 
chief purpose of living was to commit as few sins as possible, so 
as to limit one's self to being as small number of animals as he 
could, so as to get to Nirvana as quickly as possible. There are 
two ways to escape being animals and to reach Nirvana without 
changes. One is not to sin and another is to build a pagoda. 
Every man who builds a pagoda has purchased himself immediate 
entrance to Nirvana or heavenly annihilation. Hence many rich 
men spend their entire fortunes, impoverishing their children, in 
order to build pagodas. This explains the great number of pago- 
das. But the repairing of pagodas has no meritorious effect in 
securing post-mortem happiness. Hence many pagodas are bad- 
ly out of repair. 

WHAT BUDDHISM STOOD FOR — ITS GROWTH AND DECLINE. 

For nearly a thousand years this faith held within its grasp 
almost all of Asia. It was an improvement upon Hinduism not 
only in that it supplanted a creed that transformed men after 
•death into hopeless and unending existence as animals, but it 
•formulated a higher code of ethics and gave promise of final re- 
lease from punishment. It was also a distinct revolt against the 
rule of caste which prevails to terrible extent among the Hindus. 
It offered no reward of happiness or of immortality. It was a 
doctrine of annihilation. Its rewards were negative only. It was 
destined to again surrender its place back to Hinduism, Moham- 
medanism and Confucianism in most of Asia until now it has do- 
minion only over Burmah, Ceylon and Thibet, while it exists in 
limited degree in other lands. However, it has 455,000 followers 
more than any other religion. 

As compared with Christianity it offers but little if anything to 
the world. Its creed is a mass of vague superstitions. It rec- 



The Land of the Pagodas. 245 

ognizes no creator, and while its followers worship Buddha, he 
himself only claimed to be a prophet, and what Buddhists actually 
believed it is impossible to learn even from them. That they 
should expend vast amounts of money upon beautiful temples and 
pagodas and should waste their lives in foolish idolatry illus- 
trates the credulity of men and their susceptibility to error and 
superstition. 

Strange to say that men reared in Christian lands, who travel 
or reside in this oriental country, may be met constantly who will 
stand up and declare this to be as good a religion as Christianity. 
The American or English infidel or weak-kneed Christian easily 
glides into Buddhism or Mohammedanism or any of the heathen 
religions, when he gets beneath their spell. How it is possible 
to compare the ignorance and wickedness and filth which follow 
heathenism with the cleanliness and progress and purity which are 
the sequences of Christianity and pronounce one as good as the 
other, we confess we can not understand. 

WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS DOING. 

If Buddhism is in such potent and flourishing form in Burmah 
it is also true that in no heathen country has Christianity made 
more marked progress. Here ninety-five years ago Adoniram 
Judson, the first American Baptist Missionary, if not the first 
American Missionary, landed and began his apparently hopeless 
work. For seven years there was not a single convert. He strug- 
gled on undaunted. He translated the entire Bible into Burmese 
and made an Anglo-Burmese dictionary and grammar. Being an 
accomplished linguist he did his work so well that these books 
are standards to-day, his translation of the Bible ranking in Bur- 
mah as the King James version does in America and England. 



246 Around the World. 

He was more of a scholar than an evangehst or an orator. This 
was fortunate, for it enabled him to lay the foundation of his 
work so well that great success came afterwards. Now the Bap- 
tist denomination to which he belonged has in Burmah a total 
church membership of over 60,000 in 843 churches. It has 65 
missionaries and 212 native helpers. Of the 843 churches 679 
are self-supporting. Its work in education has been equally as 
successful. 

At Rangoon there is a fine Baptist college, established in 1872 
and with an excellent faculty and 1060 students. There are two 
theological seminaries at Insein near Rangoon, the President of 
one of them being Rev. D. A. W. Smith, son of the author of "My 
Country, 'Tis of Thee." The President of the other is Rev. Mr. 
McGuire. There is being erected for Rangoon college a new 
building to cost $50,000, and to be named Gushing Hall, in honor 
of its President, whose tragic death in St. Louis at the Baptist 
General Convention of North America in 1905, will be recalled. 
The Baptists also have four large girls' schools in Burmah, and 
eight hundred primary schools attended by 25,000 students. The 
Baptists are largely in control of the missionary work of Burmah. 

FRUITS OF .APPARENT FAILURE. 

When Adoniram Judson died at sea ni 1852, after forty years 
given to missionary work, there were those who regarded his 
long and strenuous life of self-sacrifice and devotion practical 
failure. The results seemed so small in proportion to the work 
expended. Not only were these years of isolation among an ig- 
norant and degraded people, but they were full of hardship. He 
had neither companions nor encouragement. In 1825 he was im- 
prisoned on suspicion of being a British spy and kept in filthy 



The Land of the Pagodas. 247 

prisons for seventeen months, with fetters upon his hands and 
feet, fed on horrible food, and suspended for a time with his 
feet upwards, while mosquitoes and other insects preyed upon 
him. While thus imprisoned his wife was compelled to go about 
the streets of the village begging for food for herself and infant 
child, and she took the smallpox and afterwards spotted fever, 
Judson was led from the prison at Ava, the capital, to the little 
village of Oringbinle, barefooted and bareheaded, and was then 
thrown into a cell with two fetters upon his hands, having pre- 
viously had three upon them. But he was finally released and 
while he failed to realize the hopes of these years of sacrifice and 
suffering he won appreciation and kindly treatment from the 
people. 

A brick chapel, twenty-five by fifty feet, has been erected upon 
the spot in the village of Oringbinle, four miles from Mandalay, 
where stood Judson's prison, and here on the scene of his suffer- 
ings where his mental anguish must have exceeded his physical, 
is a church, of which a Burmese, the Rev. Mr. Moung, is pastor. 
I stood in this church and went about the streets of the village 
where Mrs. Judson begged for bread, and as I did so and con- 
templated what had come to Burmah since Judson landed there, 
as I thought of the thousands who had been led into the Christian 
life, and of the thousands destined to be, I could but feel that his 
sufferings had borne fruit and that his life had not been in vain. 



XXXII. 
FROM RANGOON TO MANDALAY. 

Mandalay, Burmah, March 12, 1908. 
This city, situated upon the Irrawaddy river in the heart of 
Burmah, has attained some modern celebrity through the lines of 
Mr. Rudyard Kipling, which as I recall them, run as follows : 
"It was on the road to Mandalay, 
Where the flying fishes play 
And the dawn comes up like thunder 
Out of China across the bay." 
The lines are pretty, and it is a pity to spoil them. But the 
truth ought to be told, and if it must be we will have to testify 
that there is but one line in the stanza that is sustained by the 
facts. There is a road to Mandalay, but after diligent inquiry we 
are sure there are now and have been no flying fishes there. We 
are personally cognizant of the fact that the dawn does not come 
up like thunder, for we saw it come, and took a picture of it just 
at sunrise, and we never saw a more peaceful ushering in of the 
day. Being curious to witness the remarkable performance of 
dawn rising like thunder we arose early to observe it and were dis- 
appointed. Nor is China across the bay, but five hundred miles 
away across mountains and valleys and jungles. In fact there is 
no neighboring bay for it to be across, for the nearest ba}^ is that 
of Bengal in the other direction a thousand miles from China. 
We have always understood that under the latitude of license a 
poet was at liberty to wander at liberal distances from the truth, 
but when he murders facts at this rate he has placed himself be- 
yond the pale of indulgence. 

(248) 



The Land of the Pagodas. 249 

THE ROADS TO MANDALAY. 

There are two roads to Mandalay, one by railroad 
and the other 'by river. No doubt it can be reached 
by plain public highways. We came by railroad 400 
miles from Rangoon, and will return by river. The trip affords 
a fine opportunity for observing the country and the people. It 
required eighteen hours in which to make it. The rates of travel 
per mile are two and a half cents for first-class, one and a fourth 
cents for second-class and a half cent third-class. The large 
majority travel third-class. The first-class cars hold sixteen 
people, divided into two sections with transverse corridors open- 
ing upon the outside between. At night the seats are converted 
into berths, by which the day coaches are changed into sleeping 
cars. But each passenger must provide his own pillow and bed- 
ding, which on account of the warm climate consists only of 
sheets and blanket. There is a lavatory attached for which the 
passenger must furnish his own soap and towels. This is to be 
our method of traveling all over India and it is comfortable. 
Meals can be obtained along the route by telegraphing ahead. 

THE COUNTRY, WILD ANIMALS, TIGER HUNTING. 

The interior is less cultivated than any country we have vis- 
ited. As elsewhere there are no fences. We have seen no fences 
in Asia. About the only product is rice, or as it is called in the 
unthreshed, or native, state, "paddy." Great piles of it in sacks 
lie at every railroad station and steamboat landing. There is 
great extent of forest, some of it without undergrowth and other 
of it dense jungle. We have seen nothing in America as dense 
as an Indian jungle unless it be some people's heads. It looks 
to be impenetrable. It is a fit abode for the fierce w-ild beasts and 



250 Ai'ound the World. 

the poisonous reptiles and insects of the tropics. While these are 
not to be observed from the highways of travel the jungles are 
full of them. Tigers, leopards, elephants, tapirs, bison, rhinoc- 
eroses, hyenas, monkeys of various kinds and several varieties of 
deer are found plentifully in the remote and wild regions. We 
are assured that we can have opportunity to slay a tiger if we 
desire, but time will not permit the delay. They are hunted upon 
elephants. The tiger is located in a jungle where hunters sur- 
round him upon elephants. When he is discovered they fire upon 
him. He is rarely killed at the first shot, but when wounded he 
shows fight and will even leap upon the elephant's head or 
haunches, but if the huntsman is expert and quick he can be slain. 
He is not as dangerous or as active an animal as the leopard, and 
will not attack a man unless he is assaulted, and he is clumsy. 
But the leopard has been known to waylay and drop upon men as 
they ride through the jungle, and they are quite active, can climb 
a tree like a cat, and easily leap upon an elephant's back. The 
tiger can not climb a tree. The tigers of Burmah are not of the 
man-eating kind or as fierce or large as those of Central India. 
But to be candid, when the perils of the hunt were explained I 
came to the conclusion that lack of time was not the only obstacle 
in the way of my hunting tigers. 

ELEPHANTS. 

This is the native home of the elephant. They run wild but 
the killing of them is forbidden by law. They go in herds of 
from ten to fifty. A disease has recently broken out among them 
which is thinning them out rapidly. They are used as work ani- 
mals. We saw several of them both at Maulm.ein and Rangoon. 
At the latter place there were four of them removing logs from 



Rangoon to Mandalay. 251 

a lagoon. Their power and intelligence are alike remarkable. 
They plunge into water and mire with seeming recklessness, but 
it is said that they are prudent enough never to go beneath their 
depth. Their strength both in draught work and in pushing huge 
logs with their tusks is very great. In one place a big fellow was 
piling lumber in a lumber yard, which he did with great precision, 
sighting with his eye along the pile to see that it was straight, and 
never contenting himself as long as a single timber was out of 
line. We watched them bathe, and they laid down in the water, 
plunging their heads under and frolicking like children. 
We were anxious to find out how much they ate, and learned from 
their keeper that they consumed over four hundred pounds of 
green grass and a bushel of rice a day. They sell at from $2,000 
to $3,000 each. In the rural districts they are used to haul logs 
and do other heavy work. They are useful, and the stories told 
of their strength and intelligence are almost beyond belief. 

THE ORIGINAL WHITE ELEPHANT. 

The white elephant is rare and regarded sacred. While in 
Mandalay I learned the origin of the expression "having a white 
elephant upon one's hands." When the country passed into the 
hands of the English the Burmese king owned a white elephant. 
The people had a superstition that for any one to own the animal 
except one of their own native kings was desecration, and were 
about to rise in rebellion when the English took the beast in 
charge. The English were perplexed to know what to do. Fin- 
ally they slew the elephant and thus relieved themselves from 
the serious embarrassment of "having a white elephant on their 
hands." 



252 Around the World. 

SNAKES. 

The most dangerous beasts in Burmah, as in all India, are the 
snakes. As stated in a former letter over twenty thousand peo- 
ple die every year from snake bites. The poison of the reptiles 
is deadly, and few if any remedies have been discovered for it. 
The religion of many of the people teaches them that it is wrong 
to slay an animal of any kind, and this results in great multipli- 
cation of snakes of all kinds. Some of them regard it sinful to 
resist a snake when attacked. The largest snake is the python. 
We saw one in a museum about twenty feet long. They are not 
a dangerous snake, but a gentleman told me that he had seen one 
carrying a deer in his mouth. They lie in wait for various ani- 
mals and drop upon them from the trees, as does also the boa con- 
strictor, which is found in abundance. It is not certain but that 
the python and boa constrictor are the same. The most active 
and dangerous snake is the cobra. He is the mortal enemy of 
men, will conceal himself over doors or in trees and leap upon 
his victim unawares. His bite means death. The Russell's viper 
is ecjually deadly, but is sluggish, and will not strike unless dis- 
turbed, when he goes at the offender furiously. The banded 
kreit, a habitat of rocks and houses, a little snake that climbs 
up legs of beds and chairs, and the hemadryad are others of 
many dangerous snakes. This is another argument against a 
tenderfoot hunting in India, And the heat is the chief argument 
of all. 

THE BIRDS- 

Burmah has selected as its national bird the most beautiful and 
the most useless of all, the peacock. Here as everywhere the 
chicken is in evidence, the traveler's chief reliance. But we 



Rangoon to Mandalay. 253 

have not observed many birds in the forest, with the exception 
of crows, of which there is no limit. Upon the rivers are im- 
mense swarms of ducl^s and geese and pehcans and other water 
fowl. 

DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 

The universal, almost the only draught animal in Burmah, is 
the ox. Horses are only owned by the wealthy in the cities, and 
I had begun to fear that I would never again see another Mis- 
souri mule. In riding over Mandalay I was giving utterance to 
the lament when w^e suddenly passed an army post which had 
emblazoned above it "Twenty-Fifth Mule Corps," and looking 
across into a compound I saw at least five hundred of my old 
friends. 1 felt like singing "home, sweet home.'' H&d one of 
them opened his mouth in his familiar refrain I feel sure I could 
not have suppressed the song in response. But these mules which 
were used for army transportation were not to be compared with 
the original Missouri brand. I have seen this kind only in Manila. 
The water buffalo, the most popular of all Asiatic domestic ani- 
mals, is also to be found in abundance in Burmah, as are the goat, 
the dog, the cat, and the sheep. The hardiest animal is the pony. 
He is of diminutive size but his strength and endurance have to 
be witnessed to be believed. He is confined to the cities. 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 

The domestic vegetables are those in common use elsewhere, 
cabbage, turnip, tomato, potato, lettuce, beans, sweet potato, cauli- 
flower, carrot. The fruits are the durian, mango, mangosteen, 
rambutan, orange, lemon, custard apple, pineapple, papaya, 
leechy, guava. But they lack the flavor of those to be found in 



254 Around the World. 

America. Both vegetables and fruits are insipid. The weather h 
so hot, and the droughts so fierce as to take the life out of vegeta- 
bles. We have seen but few flowers, and none of the fragrant 
varieties. 

MANDALAY, 

The city of Mandalay was formerly the capital of Burmah. 
The palace and grounds occupying an area a mile square, the 
home of the last Burmese king, Thibaw, are still preserved as a 
soldiers' barracks, but the palace is deserted. It is a barnlike 
structure with the walls of teak wood, but elaborately garnished 
with gold leaf. The large mirrors and walls inlaid with colored 
glass are the only remaining traces of its former grandeur, which 
has the barbaric stamp. Thibaw had two vicious wives among 
many others. These wives engaged in an intrigue to expel an 
English company from doing business in Burmah. This brought 
on a war and resulted in the entire country passing into the pos- 
session of the British, where it has been since. This was in 1885,. 
and as heretofore mentioned, Thibaw and his wives have since 
been prisoners in India. The city contains about 188,000 people,, 
is laid out with wide streets and is overspread with pagodas, the 
most important of which were mentioned in the last letter. There 
is not much business. There are ruby and jade mines not many 
miles distant, and also alabaster quarries, and teak forests. These 
are worked into use for commerce. The carvings from the teak 
wood are the finest in the world. 

The place has been smitten for years by the Bubonic plague. 
There are many deaths daily. This plague has destroyed mil- 
lions in India within the past few years. It is almost certain 
death. It is contracted from the rats, being transmitted by fleas. 
The victim is first stricken by a high fever, followed by intense 



Rangoon to Mandalay. 255 

pains in the back of the neck and head and body. The glands of 
the neck swell and death ensues from heart failure. Despite all 
efforts to check and prevent it no remedy has been discovered, and 
the deaths proceed steadily. They are confined to the natives. 

There are many lepers in the city. There are said to be 25,- 
000 lepers in Burmah. Two large leper hospitals have been 
erected, one by the Catholics and the other by the Wesleyan Mis- 
sion, at which some thousand lepers are being treated. The 
disease is not regarded contagious, but is incurable. Every 
provision is made to render the unfortunates comfortable. There 
is also a plague hospital. 

Mandalay is quite an educational center. The Baptists have 
large schools for Burmese boys and girls, and also a school for 
Europeans, and there are two extensive Catholic institutions. 
The Baptists have a church building erected as a memorial to 
Adoniram Judson, the pioneer Baptist missionary, and there is 
also a flourishing Wesleyan mission. 

While in Mandalay we have been indebted to the Rev. E, Trib- 
olet, principal of the Burmese boys' school, for many attentions, 
and for having afforded us the best opportunities for visiting 
points of interest. We also met Misses Parrott and Parish of the 
girls' school, two accomplished ladies, and were kindly received 
by Miss Brend, principal of the European school, and by Father 
John, of the Catholic school for boys. 

Nowhere have we been more deeply impressed with the philan- 
thropic and unselfish work of missionaries than by that being 
done in this plague-stricken city by these faithful men and women. 
It is difficult to understand how anyone can find it in his heart to 
criticize missionaries after having witnessed the scenes of self- 
sacrifice that are everywhere to be seen in this idolatrous and 
diseased-cursed country. 



XXXIII. 
DOWN THE IRRAWADDY. 

On Board River Steamer, March 13, 1908. 
Nowhere in the world, so far as our observation has been, is 
there to be had a trip by river more unique, spectacular and in- 
teresting than that on the Irrawaddy between Mandalay and Ran- 
goon, Burmah. The distance is seven hundred miles. But the 
tourist only travels four hundred from Mandalay to Prome, when 
he proceeds the remainder of the distance by rail. The trip be- 
tween Mandalay and Prome by river requires three days, and 
every moment is filled with interest. The steamers are large and 
comfortable and are a reminder of the good old steamboating days 
on the Missouri river before the Civil War. The river itself is 
very like the Missouri. It is not more than half or a third as 
wide but it is muddy and full of sand bars, the current constantly 
changing in the same capricious manner as "The Big Muddy." 
The incessant droning of the deck hands who are measuring the 
depths of the channel recalls the familiar "mark twain" and 
"quarter less train^" as wailed out on the Missouri steamers in 
the good old days. The Burmese deck hands have the same act- 
ive and happy characteristics of the negro roustabouts, and at the 
river landings are piles of rice sacks looking as the wheat and 
oats and corn did, along the Missouri. The scenes at the landings 
are the same familiar type and the captains are of that social, bluff, 
hearty and commanding quality which all who can remember 
the old days will recall in the steamboat days of the Missouri. 
The running of a steamboat was then a profitable business, and the 
ambition of the average man was to be a captain of one of 
them, for they usually retired rich. On the Irrawaddy, while the 

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Down the Irrawaddy. ' 257 

captains do not own their boats as the Missouri captains did, they 
receive a large percentage of the business and retire finally with 
ample fortunes. In our travels we have met with no more cour- 
teous and chivalrous characters than the captains of the steamers 
upon which we have traveled. They do much to render the life 
of their passengers pleasant, and travel by river in the orient is 
an event not to be forgotten. 

THE STEAMERS AND PASSENGERS. 

The boats upon the Irrawaddy are of different shape from those 
of the Missouri and Mississippi. They are flatter and longer and 
more capacious. There are but few cabin passengers, and all 
of them are Europeans and Americans. But the deck passengers 
number upon this steamer nearly a thousand and are all natives, 
most of them going to or returning from a large Buddhist festival. 
They are a quiet people, and amiable as evidenced in that they sub- 
mit to being packed together upon the floors like sardines in a 
box. They are dressed in the picturesque costume of the coun- 
try, white and red, with turbans upon the head. All are bare- 
footed. As they line up in dense throngs upon the shores, or sail 
about in skiffs upon the river, or drive their ox carts down the 
landings they present a picture of color and primitive life that con- 
trasts beautifully with the sand, the waving palms, the verdure, 
the bungalows and the pagodas along the shore. Hundreds of 
them may be seen bathing in the river. They leap in, both men 
and women, with their clothes on. These garments^ just as few as 
the law will allow, consisting of brief skirts, or loin clouts or 
wrappings about the body, they take off and wash while their bod- 
ies are partly concealed under the water. They then rerobe them- 
selves and go out to dry upon shore. This process of bathing and 
laundering all at one time, while novel, combines economy and 
cleanliness and is peculiar to the orientals. 
17 



258 Around the World. 

SMOKING AND DRINKING. 

Burmah is the home of the cigar. Nearly all the people, men, 
women and children, smoke it. Nowhere are cigars as cheap, or 
as large. The tobacco is of a gentle quality^ much milder than the 
Havana, and of good flavor. It does not contain the bitter nic- 
otine of American tobacco. The cigarettes are something enor- 
mous, being six inches long and an inch in diameter, and to see 
girls and children puffing these huge tobacco sticks is something 
ludicrous. Cigars are smaller than cigarettes, being not much 
larger than an American cigarette and can be bought for a half 
cent each. This is a paradise for the smoker. Of course no one 
smokes a pipe where cigars are so cheap. There is but little drink- 
ing of intoxicants. It is said that formerly drunkenness was 
punishable with death in Burmah. Whether this penalty or public 
sentiment has caused it the fact is that they are a temperate peo- 
ple, in marked and humiliating contrast with their presumably 
civilized foreign residents, who drink about three times as much 
here as they do at home. For instance, on this steamer there are 
less than a dozen Europeans and Americans, and about a thou- 
sand Burmese. I have not observed an intoxicated native, while 
at least two of the foreign passengers have been riproariously 
drunk. It will thus be understood how hard a time the missionary 
has in converting a people who are given such practical con- 
tradiction of the missionary's teachings by the missionary's own 
countrymen. 

THE VIEW FROM THE RIVER. 

I started out to tell of the spectacular scenery along the river. 
It runs through a region both flat and mountainous, overspread 
with tropical forests and dotted here and there with the prim- 



Down the Irrawaddy. 259 

itive bamboo villages of the natives. There is a haze in the at- 
mosphere and a stillness suggestive of a Missouri Indian sum- 
mer. Swarms of ducks and geese and other water fowl are 
frightened from the river by the steamer, above which they cir- 
cle in graceful curves to resume their abode in the water when 
the steamer shall have passed. But the striking and wonderful 
feature is that the river banks are constantly lined with pagodas. 
For the whole four hundred miles there is not a moment when we 
are not out of sight of them ; not near to the river only^ but upon 
the summits of the mountains as far as the eye can reach, these 
stately and beautiful architectural piles, some of color of gold, oth- 
ers red, but the vast majority pure white, lift themselves in classic 
beauty and give a charm to the scene that cannot be described. 
They are of divers shapes. Most of them are of the tentlike form 
observed in those at Rangoon and Mandalay, but others look more 
like mausoleums or cathedrals, and some have the appearance of 
castles. All are terraced and terminate in a spire at the top. In 
their vicinity may occasionally be seen images of Buddha, and of 
large lions or other figures, and moving about near them are the 
yellow robed Buddhist priests, whose striking garb contrasts pleas- 
ingly with the white pagodas and the verdure. 

A CITY OF PAGODAS. 

Midway between Mandalay and Rangoon lies the well-named 
city of Pagan, a veritable city of pagodas. It is said to contain 
nearly ten thousand, and from its size one is prepared to believe 
the statement. It is located in a bend of the river. Our steamer 
lay there at night, arrived at two o'clock in the morning and we 
left at six. For over an hour we were passing the city and the 
spectacle of this wilderness of architecture under the burnishinof 



260 Around the World. 

rays of the rising sun was one of bewildering beauty. One had to 
rub his eyes to be sure that he was not dreaming or had not been 
translated to one of the periods of mediaeval or ancient history, or 
to a scene of the Arabian nights. The structures were of all sizes 
and colors and divers shapes but all gave evidence of high, even 
classic, architectural skill and taste. What adds to the interest and 
weirdness of the city is that it is practically deserted. There are 
no business or dwelling houses, the population that it contains be- 
ing only what is termed "servants of the pagodas," people en- 
gaged in looking after the structures, or having connection with 
the Buddhist religious ceremonies. Many of the pagodas are said 
to have subterranean passages which are thought to have been 
built as secret retreats from the whims of a brutal king who now 
and then took it into his head to order some of the people slain 
for his amusement. The city was once the capital of Burmah, 
but when it ceased to be it was also no longer a commercial cen- 
ter and has gradually been abandoned. It is of ancient origin, how 
ancient no one seems to know, possibly thousands of years. 
Nearly all of the pagodas along the Irrawaddy are very old, a fact 
which adds to their interest. It is said that but few new ones are 
being built, which is significant of the decline of Buddhism, al- 
though ninety per cent of the population still profess that faith. 

TWO ANCIENT RELICS OF HUGE PROPORTIONS. 

These splendid memorials of the past convey impressive lessons 
of the civilization of a period which is popularly supposed to 
have been an age of barbarism. No finer architecture, no higher 
sense of the aesthetic, no deeper reverence of things sacred ex- 
ists today. While the physical labor exerted in the erection of 
these remarkable edifices may be explained by the fact that it was 



Down the Irrawaddy. 261 

within the power of sovereigns to command their subjects with- 
out Hmit to work upon them^ and that an even greater impeUing 
force, that of an ignorant religious superstition led them to feel 
that thereby they purchased immunity from post-mortem punish- 
ment, yet the skill and culture displayed in their conception and 
construction can only be accounted for upon the ground that there 
was an initiative genius and culture. There are other evidences of 
this higher civilization than that evinced in the pagodas. Near 
Mandalay there is the largest bell in the world, the Mingoon bell. 
It weighs ninety tons, is thirty-one feet high and fifty-four feet 
in circumference at its base. It was built in 1790 by direction of 
King Bodopayo and is in good preservation. In Mandalay is a 
statue of Buddha in sitting posture, as are all Buddha statues. It 
is carved out of one solid block of alabaster. It is twenty-one 
feet wide by thirty-seven and one-half feet high^ and extends 
ten feet into the ground. The foot is seven and one-half feet long 
and the forefinger, ear and nose are four and one-half feet each. 
At Pegu there is a statue of Buddha 180 feet long by 45 feet 
broad. There are many other similar illustrations of the genius 
and skill of these people. Exhumations are developing many 
works of rare interest and value. 

THE HOMES AND AVOCATIONS. 

The wretched little hovels, mere bamboo "shacks," with little 
more than a roof and four thin walls, the homes of the people 
in the rural districts, as seen from the river, are in striking con- 
trast with the classic pagodas which lie near by. The people 
live in abject poverty. The almost universal avocation is agri- 
culture, the culture of rice. The farm implements are those 
that have been in use for thousands of vears. We have not seen 



262 Around the World. 

a farm house in Burmah which would be considered fit for the 
poorest Missouri farmer, and the village homes are no better 
than those in the country. The little shops and stores are mere 
open sheds with articles of merchandise scattered about in the 
utmost confusion. Cattle are raised in large numbers. Great 
droves of them can be seen from the steamer as they are brought 
to the water's edge to drink. They are of the color, size and 
shape of the Jersey. There are no cattle to compare in size with 
the American Shorthorn or Hereford. The sheep and goats have 
the same dwindled appearance. The live stock is as much inferior 
to that of America as the people are to the people of America. 

OIL. 

Burmah is the one country of the orient into which the Standard 
Oil Company has been unable to effect an entrance, although it 
has made vigorous and repeated efforts to do so. But Burmah has 
oil of her own, and an oil company relatively as strong as the 
Standard. Their wells and tanks may be observed along the 
river, where they divide honors with the pagodas upon the moun- 
tain tops. The quality of oil is good and it is piped hundreds of 
miles to Rangoon, where it is exported to other lands. It is 
about the biggest business in Burmah. 

RANGOON. 

Rangoon is the most prosperous city we have seen in South- 
ern Asia, if not in the orient. It is a rival if not a superior 
to Hankow or Shanghai. It contains over two hundred and fifty 
thousand people, has all modern conveniences, as electric lights, 
tramways, water supply, and the best wooden paved streets we 
have seen. Its park is a thing of beauty, a poem of lawn and 



Down the Irrawaddy. 263 

lake and coral driveway. We attended a concert there one after- 
noon, and the handsome equipages and well dressed people would, 
have done credit to any American or European city. A fine band 
was playing. Just as we arrived it was rendering Dixie, Marching 
Through Georgia and Yankee Doodle. We removed our hats 
as these familiar strains brought back memories of our home, 
from which we are at the most remote distance we will be 
upon our way around. It provoked a qualm of homesickness, but 
it also made us feel at home and honored and pleased to feel 
that these melodies of our beloved land were known and enjoyed 
in this far-away part of the world. We would like to say more 
of Rangoon, of its churches, its colleges and schools, its prison, 
its manufactories, its business establishments, and its shipping, 
for it is the third port in India. But we have given already more 
space than we should have done to Burmah. For we recall that 
there are other countries to come. 

But I cannot close these letters without acknowledgment of our 
indebtedness to some of those who have been so kind and atten- 
tive to us here and have made our visit such a pleasant one. 
Among these Rev. and Mrs. W. F. Armstrong have been un- 
remitting in their attentions. At their home we were given a re- 
ception and dinner where we had the pleasure of meeting the 
members of the faculty of Rangoon Baptist College and their 
wives and several other American residents. Nowhere have w^e 
met a more refined and agreeable company. President and Mrs. 
Hicks, of Rangoon College, and their charming daughter. Miss 
Alice, have entertained us beautifully and the managers of the 
Baptist Mission Press, a large and flourishing publishing estab- 
lishment, employing 240 people, have been very courteous and 
kind. 



264 Around the World. 

The students of the Rangoon Baptist College^ over a thousand 
in number, gave us a cordial reception and made our last day 
in Rangoon one of the memorable days in our world tour. 







C5 b^ 






XXXIV. 
FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE EARTH. 

Darjeeling, India, March 21, 1908. 

Owing to our delay In other countries we have reached India 
two months later than was planned. It is becoming quite hot. 
It will be necessary to hasten our tour through the country be- 
fore the heat becomes unbearable. India is not regarded safe 
for the unacclimated later than the middle of April. The char- 
acter of the country renders a swift tour practicable. While it 
is spectacular it is interesting only in spots, and there are not a 
great many of the spots. Most of these we find we can easily 
cover in three weeks. We have been in the land but four days, 
but have visited two of the best known points, Calcutta and 
Darjeeling. Tomorrow we go. to Benares, thence to Agra, Delhi, 
Jeypore, Bombay and Colombo, whence we will sail for Port 
Said, Egypt, on April 10. 

This letter is written from the extreme north of India, on 
the boundary line between that country and Thibet, in the heart 
of Asia and in the Himalaya mountains. Near by is a range of 
the highest mountains in the world. 

We came from Rangoon to Calcutta by British India steamer. 
The distance is about eight hundred miles. Calcutta is situated 
on the Hoogley river, one hundred and twenty-five miles from 
the Bay of Bengal. We entered the river at its mouth where 
it is very wide, made so by the Ganges and the Bramah Putra 
emptying into it not far above. It is another river which is 
similar to the Missouri in that it has many shifting quicksands, 
and the skill of expert pilots, paid $5,000 and $6,000 salaries, is 
required to successfully steer its steamers. Jungles line its banks 

(265) 



266 Around the World. 

and we are told are infested by tigers^ elephants, leopards and 
other fierce animals. Before we reach Calcutta are miles of brick 
yards indicating the proximity of a great city. Calcutta itself 
contains over a million people, a vast majority natives. There 
are about 30,000 foreigners. It has many manufactories, but is 
not specially attractive or noteworthy. Its streets are broad, and 
there are fine business buildings. There are not many handsome 
residences. There are several large parks not specially orna- 
mental, but liberally supplied with statues of Englishmen of civil 
and military note who have been conspicuous in subjugating and 
governing India. Their presence strikes one as a kind of red rag 
or "rubbing-it-in" to the natives, who are thus perpetually re- 
minded of their humiliation. The governmental building, oc- 
cupied by the English viceroy, the postoffice and the palace of the 
Indian Maharajah are handsome structures. But a large part of 
the city, that occupied by the natives, is a mere mass of wretched 
hovels. 

THE POPULATION. 

The governing class and the principal business people are 
English, and there are many modern business establishments. 
The English give evidences of prosperity. In their dress, equip- 
ages and appearance they are fully equal to the commercial ele- 
ment to be seen in London. But the natives for the most part 
are very poor. They have the scantiest dress. Native women 
are rarely seen in public, and when visible are wretchedly clad, 
despairing and degraded. The woman is a mere beast of burden 
in India, the slave of man who does not recognize her as worthy 
to sit at meat with him. The greatest disgrace that can befall 
a human being is to be born a female, and no indignity or burden 
is considered too grievous to be put upon her. This is especially 
true of the Hindu sect of relisiionists whose creed is said to be 



The Summit of the Earth. 267 

so hazy and so variously interpreted that no one can be found 
who can tell what it is. They have a definite and uniform creed 
as to women. And yet they consider a cow sacred. A Hindu 
when asked if there was any one thing upon which the Hindus 
agreed, answered that there were two, the sanctity of the cow 
and the depravity of woman. The dress of the lower order of 
the Indian men has been described as a towel around the head 
and a handkerchief about the loins. Many are black as coal, but 
they are lithe and active and have a springy^ elastic movement 
peculiar to themselves. The women have a penchant for tawdry 
jewelrv', which they wear in great profusion in their ears, nose, 
around their necks, wrists and ankles. Some of these ornaments 
are huge and grotesque, and the wearer looks like a traveling 
jewelry store of the cheaper class. The native stores are wretched 
little junk shops. The wages paid the coolie class are beggarly. 
-A gentleman who operates a tea farm of 2,000 acres, said that 
he had 5,000 coolies in his employ to whom he paid six cents per 
day. But they only work three hours a day, the heat making it 
:impracticable for them to work longer. What would be thought 
of two cents an hour for laborers in America? Most of the 
laborers are densely ignorant, more so than the American negro. 
The impression made upon a stranger is that the English gov- 
ernment is pursuing a policy of repression with its Indian sub- 
jects, to keep them in a perpetual state of peonage and serf- 
dom. 

ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. 

One of the attractions of Calcutta is its Zoological Garden. 
It is probably the finest collection of tropical animals in the world. 
Tigers, leopards, hippopotamuses, hyenas, deer, snakes, monkeys, 



268 Around the World. 

birds of every tropical variety and of the finest specimens are 
in its collection. The most interesting are a huge rhinoceros^ 
the largest in the world, a brace of white browed gibbon mon- 
keys, who yell very like human beings and are quite similar to 
the lower order of negro^ the tropical birds and the reptiles. 

THE LARGEST TREE IN THE WORLD. 

All of US who studied geography will recall the picture 
of Calcutta's celebrated Banyan tree. We are told that it is the 
largest tree in the world. It has not the hugest trunk, but it 
covers more ground. We visited it, and regard it as great a 
curiosity as any one thing we have seen. It is 139 years old, 
has fifty different stems or roots, is a hundred feet high and a 
thousand feet in circumference. We measured the diameter of the 
space over which its branches spread and found it to be 330 feet. 
The trunk of the main stem five feet from the ground is over 
fifty feet in circumference. Its branches project themselves in 
all directions, entwine about neighboring stems like serpents, or 
dropping downward take root in the ground. It is a curious 
growth and there seems to be no reason why it should not grow 
much larger, as it does not depend for life upon a single stem,, 
but can project an illimitable number into the ground. 

HINDU Vk-'ORSHIP AND FILTH. 

A large majority of the native population are devout Hindus. 
One of the sights of Calcutta is to witness them bathing in the 
river in the early morning. Stone steps lead down to the river 
brink and here each morning thousands, with only a cloth about 
the loins, come down to bathe and to gather some of the water 
into brass jars and to pray. The worshippers stand in the water 



The Summit of the Earth. 269 

with their faces towards the sun^ and with their open hands, the 
thumbs and fingers touching and projected in front of them 
utter their prayers. Some of them drink this filthy water into 
which the sewage of the city flows and which receives the gar- 
bage from the ships on the shore. Then they carry it off in the 
brass bowls to drink at home. They regard the water of the 
Hoogley river as of the Ganges, sacred. There is little wonder 
that cholera and the bubonic plague are decimating the popula- 
tion by millions annually. The wonder is that more do not die^ 
when in addition to the filthy habit of worship there is added 
the indescribable uncleanliness of the hovels they call homes. 
They huddle together like animals upon dirt floors, and sleep on 
matting that is rarely changed. The average native can discount 
even the Chinaman in the matter of filth. 

BURNING THE DEAD. 

The Hindus and many Buddhists cremate all their dead. A 
short distance from where they take the morning bath and go 
through with their worship is a burning ghat, where all their 
dead are burned. It is an open shed in which fires are burning 
day and night, looking like piles of fence rails' or cord wood 
aflame. The body is laid upon a pile of wood and then more 
wood is piled upon it. The torch is applied by the nearest rela- 
tive of the deceased and in the presence of the relatives and 
friends the body is burned. The attending relatives do not 
give any exhibition of grief, but stand by curious spectators, 
while the grewsome holocaust is in progress. The morning we 
visited the place the body of an old man and of an infant were 
being burned in close proximity. The relatives were standing 
by laughing and talking and acting as though they were looking 



270 Around the World. 

upon the consuming of animals. The man in charge, a big yel- 
low complected Hindu, informed us that an average of thirty-five 
bodies were burned within every twenty-four hours, and that 
rich and poor, high and low alike were committed to the flames. 
The ashes are thrown into the river. ^lingling with its sacred 
waters they are thought to have better prospects for a satisfactory 
transmigration of the soul into another form after death. 

THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 

Every visitor to Calcutta who has read history visits the spot 
where, during the siege of the city by the British on June 20, 
1756, one hundred and forty-six British men, women and chil- 
dren, were confined in a hole in the ground fourteen feet ten 
inches by eighteen feet. Only twenty-three came out alive. The 
others died of suffocation. It was one of the most horrible afifairs 
in history. The spot is near the postoffice, was appropriately 
covered with black marble and marked by an inscription by Lord 
Curzon in 1901. 

MUSEUM. 

There is in Calcutta one of the finest museums in the world. 
Its collection of statuary, or parts of ruined buildings and of pot- 
tery indicates an ancient genius and skill equal to anything found 
in Rome or Greece. No other museum we have seen has so 
many, varied and interesting specimens of the mammalia, while 
its display of wood and ivory carving, of embroidery, and brass, 
porcelain and lacquer work, all by modern artisans, is unsurpassed. 
The museum is one of the sis:hts of the orient. 



The Summit of the Earth. 271 

IN THE HIMALAYAS. 

This letter is written from the heart of the Himalayas, the 
highest mountain range in the world. Beside it the Rocky moun- 
tains of America are foot hills. From this hotel there can be 
seen any clear day twelve mammoth peaks, the lowest of which 
is as high as Pike's Peak and two of the largest are twice as 
high. One of them^ Everest, is the highest mountain in the 
world, attaining the enormous altitude of 29,000 feet. Their 
snow-capped summits^ as they rise in noble majesty towards the 
sky present a picture of grandeur to be seen nowhere else upon 
the earth's surface. No human beings so far as is known, has 
ever scaled their lofty heights. In 1905 six Europeans, and sev- 
eral natives, made the attempt, but one European and three na- 
tives were overwhelmed by an avalanche of snow and perished, 
while three others to whom they were attached by ropes barely 
escaped. A daring woman, Dr. Fanny Workman and her hus- 
band, made the effort, but after reaching 22,000 feet^ were com- 
pelled to turn back. A year or two ago two brave Norwegians 
got within fifty feet of the summit of Mount Kangchenjunge, 
next to Everest the tallest of the range, but they were forced to 
return, badly frost-bitten. To witness a sunrise upon these mon- 
ster mountains is awe-inspiring beyond description. As the bril- 
liant rays of the sun gild their snow-crowned summits they 
first seem to be a fringe of gold, which as the sun rises higher 
changes to silver, and when it blazes in its full power upon them 
they glitter like diamonds. No material scene in the world so 
impresses the beholder with the wondrousness of nature's achieve- 
ments or the glorv of nature's God. 



272 Around the World. 

DARJEELING. 

This town of Darjeeling lies upon the mountain side, and ex- 
tends down into its deep defiles in a most picturesque manner. 
There is almost a fierceness in the scenery of the Himalayas, sur- 
passing that to be seen in any other mountainous region. Added 
to its natural beauty and grandeur are its artificial attractiveness, 
the works wrought by man, the tasteful hotels, residences, tem- 
ples and public buildings of brilliant hues and artistic architecture, 
the broad and splendid roads, and adorning it all the fantastic 
and gaudy costume of the people. The Thibetans pour in by the 
thousand. Their half-savage dress and manners, their strong 
individuality and their curious handicraft make them a distinct 
race from that of any other in the orient. The town is the sum- 
mer resort of Europeans residing in India and a favorite Mecca 
of tourists. The hotels are excellent, the climate delightful 
and there are few spots in the world more interesting than 
this gem of the Himalayas. 

THE TRIP TO DARJEELING. 

It is four hundred miles from Calcutta, and is reached by rail. 
En route the Ganges, the sacred river of India, is crossed. There 
is no bridge across it. It has sandy banks and bottom and at this 
point is a mile wide. Passengers are conveyed over it by boat. 
We reached there at night and we do not remember to have had 
a more weird experience than was our passage across this his- 
toric stream. The shore is lined by jungle, infested by all man- 
ner of wild beasts. The steamer turned its searchlight upon the 
stream and shore. When we recalled the superstition of the 
people in regard to the river, how they once sacrificed their in- 
fants in its waters, and even yet regard death in it or upon its 



The Smninit of the Earth. 273 

banks a sure passport to Heaven, and then looked out upon the 
shore, made ghostly and uncanny in the stillness of the night 
by the searchlight from the steamer, we felt grewsome indeed. 
The railroad pursues its way through a dense jungle, the abode 
of all manner of wild beasts. It is related as an actual fact that 
at one time a herd of wild elephants blocked the track and com- 
pelled the train to back. Fifty miles from Darjeeling we reach 
the mountains, where we take a narrow-gauge road, which runs 
up the range describing curves and loops and running along 
precipices of thousands of feet in height in a most daring man- 
ner. It is one of the finest pieces of engineering in the world, 
and must have cost an enormous amount of money. The grade 
is very steep. It attains its highest altitude at Goom, near Dar- 
jeeling, which is 7,045 feet above the sea level and is said to be 
the highest point occupied by any railroad station on earth. 



18 



XXXV. 
TRAVELING THROUGH INDIA. 

On the Train in India, March 23, 1908. 
We are making a trip of over twenty-five hundred miles by 
rail through India. As railroad travel in that country is dif- 
ferent from that to be had elsewhere some description of it may 
be of interest. There are in India 30,286 miles of railway. The 
trains are long, make good speed, and run on time. There is 
rarely an accident. The engines are small and have no bells, 
but whistles of unearthly shrillness that would wake the dead. 
There are three classes of cars, first, second and third. Roy- 
alty, Americans and fools travel first class, ordinary Europeans 
and foreign residents second-class, and natives third class. Rates 
are about three cents for first class^ two cents for second and 
one cent or less for third. The second and third class are di- 
vided into compartments, and the natives are crowded in like 
cattle. They are plain and dirty. All cars are entered from the 
side. The first class are divided into two compartments, each 
compartment being for four persons. There are lavatories be- 
tween or at the ends of the compartments and in some there 
is a narrow space cut off for a servant, who is a necessary ad- 
junct to all foreign tourists. There is a long seat along each of 
the four walls of the two compartments, which travelers sit upon 
in the day time and sleep upon at night. Above is a swinging 
shelf which is folded up against the wall and ceiling in the day- 
time and let down and used as an upper berth at night. All 
passengers must supply their own bedding, which needs to be 
only a blanket and pillow, and also their own soap and towels. 
If wise they will take along a box of ice and a bountiful supply 

(274) 



Traveling Through India. 275 

of soda water, for no one dares to drink the water to be obtained 
along the route. Also a supply of fruit and several boxes of 
crackers and sardines are advisable for an emergency. The beds 
are comfortable. The heat is such that even a blanket is rarely 
needed except about six o'clock in the morning, about the time 
an industrious Missourian feels like getting up. The cars are 
not as handsome as in America, but in their isolation and inde- 
pendence are preferable. Six people may reserve a whole car 
without additional expense. If you can manage to have a con- 
genial party of six, as we have had, you can feel like Mr. Har- 
riman in a car of his own, or a United States senator traveling 
at government expense. The car is all right on the inside, but 
its wheels and trucks and the railroad track are something fearful. 
The noise is nearly as great as a threshing machine, and the 
jostling and bumping is almost like a Missouri farm wagon. 
Conversation is hardly possible by reason of the noise, and is not 
desired on account of the bumping. In the daytime passengers 
sit and look at each other in blank helplessness. At night only 
a narcotic or extreme weariness is sufficient to woo slumber. 
There are dining cars or station restaurants with fairly good 
food. The heat during our tour is becoming intense. You may 
not believe it, but I have three trustworthy women and two re- 
liable men as witnesses that a thermometer in our car registered 
one day for several hours, while the train was in motion, one 
hundred and ten degrees in the shade. In the sun during nearly 
all of our stay in India the mercury has stood at from 156 to 
161 degrees. The heat is dry, or we would perish. The wind 
is like the blast from a furnace. The sun's rays are something 
awful. 



276 Around the World. 

SERVANTS. 

A servant, who also is a guide^ is absolutely necessary. It 
matters not how smart one may regard himself he will have all 
of his conceit eliminated after one day's experimental effort at 
traveling unaided in India. Even if he could speak the language, 
which he cannot, for it changes as often as the trains, he could 
not manage the baggage and tickets and hotels and coolies and 
a hundred other things. He would be a maniac in three days. 
We have a guide and a good one. His name is V. N. 
Theaygoraya Mudahar. We call him "Rya" for short. He ex- 
cites our perpetual wonder. His ability to handle baggage and 
coolies, and railroad and hotel people, at a minimum expense, is 
little short of the marvelous. He gets us everywhere we wish to 
go on time, never misses a connection or loses a grip (and we have 
fourteen), preserves his temper and is never in a hurry. We 
realize how helpless we would be without him. And yet he costs 
us including his expenses but little over a dollar a day. He was 
the guide of Mr. W. E. Curtis, correspondent of the Chicago 
News-Herald when in India, and who we find knew many good 
things. By the way, the relation of master and servant in India 
is about what it was in America in the days of slavery. It is 
one of command and obedience, strictly, and not only the real 
master, but all foreigners are addressed by the natives as "mas- 
ter." 

One of the novel spectacles about the hotels is the presence 
of numbers of these servants who accompany tourists. Every 
traveler has one, who is his valet, polishes his shoes, performs all 
necessary chores and service, and sleeps upon the floor in the 
corridor in front of his room. They are personally honest. In 
all our travels, although we leave our doors unlocked and our 



Traveling Through India. 277 

baggage opened we have never missed an article. They are 
moral, temperate and respectful. They are all natives. The 
lines of social demarkation between them and Europeans and 
Americans are as clearly drawn as in America between the whites 
and negroes, even more so. I have felt indignation as I have 
witnessed the maltreatment of them by Europeans. 

THE HOTELS. 

Before visiting India we had heard from tourists much con- 
demnation of its hotels. But we are not prepared to join in 
these complaints. While the hotels are not equal to those in 
America they are fairly comfortable, the proprietors or mana- 
gers are obliging and the rates are more moderate than they 
were in Japan, China or the Straits Settlements. Beef is tough, 
but mutton and chicken fairly good. How we do long for a 
good cup of coffee and the sight of a real, meritorious, produc- 
tive Missouri cow. We have not had a drink of milk since we left 
Honolulu, while we have quit water altogether. We have drunk 
soda and charged waters until we have almost turned into min- 
erals. We hear on all sides that the water is dangerous. The 
presence of so much bubonic plague and cholera renders it un- 
safe to drink or eat anything that might be contaminated. The 
rooms and bedding in the hotels are clean, and are supplied with 
mosquito bars and punkahs or fans to keep the air in motion. 
These are pulled by coolies who for a rupee, thirty-three cents, 
will keep one in motion over your bed all night. The worst 
feature about hotels is the abominable system of tipping. If a 
coolie hands you a drink of water or picks up a handkerchief 
you have dropped he begins to bow and scrape, meaning he 
wants pay. But from this evil also we find our guide a great 
protection. 



278 Around the World. 

THE FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

With the exception of ranges of mountains along its northern 
and western frontiers and in a few other isolated points India 
is one vast, dead level, monotonous plain. In some places it is fer- 
tile, but for the most part it is barren and desolate without a blade 
of grass or other nutritive vegetation. It looks very like Arizona 
and New Mexico. There are no fences and apparently no farms. It 
seems to be a vast wilderness. There is more forest than in Japan 
and China. As in those countries, there is scarcely any rural popula- 
tion, the people living in the little wretched mud-walled, straw-cov- 
ered aggregations of huts called villages. Rice is apparently the 
chief product. Wheat and cotton are grown in large quantities, 
while the soil produces all the ordinary vegetables. But the fruits 
are limited and of poor quality. It is a wretched, poverty-stricken, 
heathenish, benighted country, and bears evidence of having made 
no progress for thousands of years. The ox and water buffalo are 
the only beasts of burden. Yokes of them hitched to little carts, 
or drawing primitive plows are seen all over the empire, but a 
good horse or mule is to be found nowhere except in the stables 
of the well paid English officials or the local Maharajahs. If 
there is a fine dwelling or a prosperous farm in India outside the 
vicinity of the great cities it is not near the railroad lines, while 
the evidences of abject poverty among the millions who swarm 
the country are upon all sides. Looking from a railroad train 
one sees a picture like this : Large flocks of goats led as in 
Bible times by a goatherd, trains of sluggish camels, droves of 
poorly fed cattle, men digging in the ground, or plowing with 
oxen, or reaping rice and wheat with most primitive implements, 
or bearing burdens on their heads, or pumping water with oxen 
from wells to irrigate the earth, or begging by the wayside. The 



Traveling Through India. 279 

men are almost without clothes, and the women are pitiable pic- 
tures. Nothing could be more pathetic than the condition of 
w^oman in India. She is not only the burden bearer_, but man's 
slave. She is not regarded worthy of an education, and some 
do not believe she has a soul. It is no uncommon spectacle to see 
strong men along the highway without any loads upon their 
shoulders, while women trudge along heavily burdened. In Dar- 
jeeling I counted fourteen plank eight feet long and weighing 
over a hundred pounds which were being borne by a little woman 
not over five feet in height. And her aged mother came along 
bearing an equal burden. I had the scene photographed and in- 
tend to have it printed. 

THE FAMINE. 

It makes one sick at heart to travel through India at this time 
as he witnesses the scenes of distress which everywhere meet his 
eyes. One hundred and fifty thousand square miles of territory, 
with a population of fifty millions, has not had a drop of rain for 
seven months, and the condition is pitiable. 1 have seen hun- 
dreds and thousands of these poor creatures toiling along the high- 
ways with their flocks and herds and their household effects borne 
upon their heads going into the cities seeking relief. I have seen 
as many more gathered in herds like cattle in the villages or on the 
dusty plain where they slept at night with only the sky for a cov- 
ering. And besides these were hordes of wretched beggars, pur- 
suing our carriages or cars begging for pennies or for bread. 
India had a great famine in 1896 and another in 1899, but the 
present one bids fair to exceed either of those. The government 
has appropriated six millions of dollars obtained by taxing the 
people, as a relief fund. This is distributed in three ways, by 



280 Around the World. 

loans at three per cent per annum, by being paid as wages for 
work upon government utilities^ and by being given outright to 
those who cannot help themselves. But this will not be sufficient 
to relieve the gaunt want, the awful despair, which hangs like a 
black cloud over this stricken land. I never pass a day and look 
into the wan faces of these wretched people that I am not filled 
with inexpressible sadness and pity, and the vision of them fol- 
lows me to my bed at night and haunts me in my dreams. 
America, blessed with plenty and prosperity, has no conception 
of the suffering and sorrow which prevail in this land of desolation 
and famine. 

DOMESTIC LIFE. 

The social life is of a low order. They live in miserable houses 
and sleep on dirt floors. The Hindu religion teaches them not 
to slay animals. Rats and vermin infest their homes and com- 
municate to them the plague. But their religion has a saving 
clause in that it requires them to bathe daily. This keeps their 
bodies clean. But they counteract this cleanliness by covering 
themselves with rancid butter or oil to protect them from the sun. 
All classes, rich and poor, eat with their fingers and sit upon the 
floor. Knives, forks, spoons and chairs are unknown. Their 
domestic lives are happy. They are affectionate. Men with their 
arms entwined around each other is a common sight upon the 
streets. While the Mohammedan religion allows to each man 
four wives, this being the number which Mahomet himself had, 
and the Hindu religion permits him to have all he wants, few 
have more than one. This is primarily due to the fact that few 
are able to provide for more than one family. The consideration 
is financial rather than sentimental. Marriages are arranged by 





DRIXKIAG OUT OF COCOA NU IS— SNAKE CH.JRMERS I\ INDIA 



Traveling Through India. 281 

parents exclusively. They may agree upon them when the boy and 
girl are babies. The marriage takes place when the girl is ten 
years of age. The ceremony is performed by a priest and the 
festivities continue for a week. The parties usually see each other 
for the first time when they meet on their wedding day. The girl 
then is put into close confinement and remains practically a pris- 
oner in her own home until she is thirteen or fourteen years of 
age when she is taken to her husband and they thenceforward 
live together as man and wife. Children are regarded an honor 
and a blessing. An unfruitful marriage is a disgrace. But boys 
are considered a far more desirable product than girls. So averse 
are some parents to girls that it is believed that infanticide is 
committed secretly. Formerly girl babies were thrown to the 
crocodiles, but this is now prohibited by law. Child murder can 
be no longer practiced openly, as formerly by throwing babies 
into the Ganges, as a religious rite. The burning of widows on 
the funeral pyres of husbands is also now forbidden. Although 
woman occupies a subordinate position she seems reconciled to it, 
and makes no complaint. 

THE LIFE OF THE FOREIGNERS. 

There are three classes in India, the Europeans, nearly all of 
whom are English, the natives, and a mixture of English and 
natives, who are called Eurasians. The last-named occupy an 
equivocal position socially and politically and are a source of much 
disturbance. As is always true in a social condition where one 
element serves and the other governs the effect has been to render 
the English aristocratic in the proportion that the natives are 
degraded. Labor is so cheap that every family employs a large 
number of servants, one for each department, and as the English 



282 Around the World. 

fill nearly all the profitable official positions and have but little 
to do they have adopted a luxurious life^ akin to that in vogue in 
monarchies or aristocracies. They have handsome residences, fine 
carriages, blooded horses richly caparisoned, liveried footmen and 
are quite ceremonial in social functions. At seven o'clock in the 
morning the gentlemen in pajamas and the ladies in morning 
robes, partake of a light meal of tea or coffee and toast called 
Choto hazi. At ten they have a regular breakfast, called burrer. 
At two there is luncheon, or tiffin. In the evening at eight is 
dinner, the chief meal at which the gentlemen appear in dress 
suits and the ladies in evening dress. It is an elaborate and 
ceremonial affair, with many courses, flowers, wine and music. 
This routine is followed in private homes^ hotels and on shipboard. 
We found it difficult for a time to adjust ourselves to four meals 
a day and especially to the ceremonial dress suit in the evening 
while wearied by travel. But vv^e have discovered that it is easier 
and less conspicuous and embarrassing to conform to the customs 
of a country than to resist them. We therefore take our four 
meals and wear our dress suit with the regularity and punctilious- 
ness of an English lord. 

The day dress of foreigners is chiefly pongee silk and white 
duck, and of the ladies white. The poor natives are all barefooted 
and either have on only a flowing robe which reaches to the knee 
and a turban if they are house servants, and only a cloth around 
their loins and another cloth upon their heads if they are laborers 
out of doors. The natives are practically the servants of the 
English. Even those who are rich and prosperous treat the for- 
eigners with servile obsequiousness. The two races are as far 
removed from each other as the color of their skins. The English 
are proud and haughty, the natives humble and dejected and 



Traveling Through India. 283 

spiritless. One cannot divest himself of the impression that Eng- 
land is crushing- the life out of the people, is breaking their 
spirit, is not only depriving them of political power, but of social 
and financial as well, is binding them hand and foot with an iron 
military rule while it is keeping them in degradation and ignor- 
ance. 

Everywhere are evidences that this was once a mighty and pow- 
erful people. The memorials of their genius in government, ar- 
chitecture and commerce are to be seen on all sides. And there 
are to be met among them thousands in rags and poverty, with 
the fire of intelligence in their eyes and the stamp of nobility in 
their bearing but out of whom hope and ambition have 
been driven. The more I see of India the more I am convinced . / 
that British rule of it has been the sfreat crime of modern times. 
I cannot believe that the civilization and the sense of justice of 
manKind in these enlightened days will permit it to continue. 



XXXVI. 
BENARES, SACRED CITY OF INDIA. 

Benares, India, March 25, 1908. 
In v/riting of the wonders of India one craves the pen of in- 
spiration. Its majestic mountain scenery^ its wonderful archi- 
tecture, the romantic heroism and the queer traditions of its 
early history, the picturesqueness of its people, the strange super- 
stitions of its various religions, its necromancy and jugglery, its 
ferocious wild beasts, its gaudiness and tinsel and display, the 
pomp and glory of its maharajahs and its courts and armies, all 
these call for the descriptive vocabulary of the rhetorician or the 
imaginative genius of the poet. To attempt description of them 
in the plain parlance of the reporter or the common-place vernac- 
ular of the American globe-trotter seems sacrilege. In Darjeeling 
we visited a Buddhist temple in which there was a prayer-wheel. 
In the wheel are stuffed a large number of prayers, written upon 
pieces of paper by Buddhist priests who are experts at writing 
prayers. The ordinary worshiper turns the wheel and thus does 
his praying in eloquent language. It recalled the familiar story 
of the little boy who could not remember his evening prayer and 
pasted a printed copy of it at the head of his bed, and exclaimed 
each night : "Lord, them's my sentiments." Realizing our own 
inadequacy to do the subject justice we bought one of these 
prayer wheels, and we have felt like putting in it some of the 
very many glowing and florid paneg}Tics we have read of India, 
and permitting that to pass as our sentiments. But as this kind 
of plagiarism, while possible to the prayer of the Buddhist, and 
T regret to say in other form is in vogue among Christians, is not 
practicable to a correspondent of an American newspaper, we 

(284) 



Benares, Sacred City of India. 285 

will have to fall back upon our own resources and tell what we 
have seen in plain United States, leaving to the genius of the 
readers to furnish the embellishments. At last we suppose what 
is chiefly desired in descriptions of this kind are the facts. We 
have discovered that there are compensations even in not being 
a word-painter. For upon an examination of the real thing a 
■comparison of the original with the description has revealed that 
there often is a sad lack of resemblance. The magician in lan- 
guage has permitted his imagination to get the better of his 
■conscience, and his word-painting to run away with the truth. 
Finally one begins to congratulate himself that facts and not 
fancy are the only assets at his command. Therefore we beg 
our readers to bear with the poverty of our rhetoric in the con- 
solation that it at least will embody the truth. 

India's sacred city. 

Two hundred miles northwest of Calcutta, in the heart of the 
■empire, lies Benares^ the sacred city of India. What Mecca is 
to the Mohammedan, what Jerusalem is to the Christian, Benares 
is to the Hindu, and even more. For while the Christian may date 
the origin of his religion from Jerusalem he attaches no sacred 
significance to the city itself. For three thousand years, possibly 
longer, a thousand years before the crucifixion of the Saviour of 
men, even before Solomon or David or most of the prophets 
of the Christian's Bible lived, Benares has been to the Hindu 
the most sacred spot on earth, with one exception, the fountain 
in the Himalayas, whence flows their hallowed river, the Ganges. 
To tread its soil, or worship in its temples, or bathe in the Ganges, 
upon whose shore it stands, or to die within its environs is in his 
telief sure passport to eternal bliss. Millions visit it every year, 



286 Around the World. 

bathe in its sacred waters and carry them many miles to their 
homes. InvaHds are borne or drag themselves across blazing- 
deserts, or along dusty roads to reach this haven of their hopes 
and prayers, to dip their bodies in its hallowed stream, with the 
implicit faith that such a death insures their translation to ever- 
lasting happiness. During all these thousands of years these mis- 
erable creatures have been held in the grasp of this horrible 
superstition. Notwithstanding the steady and determined march 
of Christian missions hundreds of millions are as firmly within 
its toils today as ever in the past. 

ITS SITUATION, SIZE AND APPEARANCE. 

The city contains nearly two hundred and forty thousand in- 
habitants. Of these over 225,000 are Hindus, 12,000 are Mo- 
hammedans and less than fifty are Europeans. There is at least 
one Mohammedan mosc[ue. There are but few Buddhists, al- 
though Buddha's tomb lies within a few miles, and here he be- 
gan his ministry over five hundred years before the Christian 
era. The city is reached by rail, as well as by many public high- 
ways, and the railroad bridge spans the Ganges at the suburbs. 
The view of the numerous temples as the train approaches it is 
very imposing. Across the river is a bleak shore of sand to die 
upon, which, according to the belief of the Hindus is to be trans- 
formed into a monkey. The spot is regarded as having a curse 
upon it and is uninhabited. The Ganges at this point is not over 
a quarter of a mile in width, is a clear stream, with white sandy 
bottom and banks. The stories of its filthiness are exaggerated. 
The city extends for two or three miles along the river^ and 
from its brink during a large portion of this distance flights of 
stone stairways ascend to rows of lofty, pinnacled temples. Down 



Benares, Sacred City of India. 287 

these stairs at all hours of the day^ but especially in the early 
morning the people come to the river to bathe. The river con- 
tains lines of craft of smaller size used chiefly in bearing the 
worshippers and bathers to and fro. 

BATHING AND WORSHIPPING. 

Securing a steam launch we sailed down the Ganges in the 
early morning to witness the Hindus in their ablutions and de- 
votions. We arrived at the river a little after sunrise, but al- 
ready throngs, bearing brass bowls filled with water and arrayed 
in bright, variegated costumes, were returning. But thousands 
yet remained. And such a spectacle ! It can be duplicated 
nowhere upon the earth's surface. The throngs ascending and 
descending the stairways, the rising sun burnishing their brilliant 
dress, presented a scene of fantastic picturesqueness that can- 
not be described. In the river were very many more, bathing 
and praying, their faces turned to the sun^ their eyes closed, their 
hands extended before them^ and their lips moving in inaudible 
prayer. Some were drinking the water, and all before leaving 
filled brass bowls with the fluid, which they bore to their homes. 
Floating upon the stream were masses of flowers which had been 
thrown into it as part of their worship. Above all rose the hum 
of many voices, quiet and subdued, for while there was no rever- 
ential silence there was no unseemly noise. Roaming about 
upon platforms at intervals in the stairway were sacred cows and 
bulls, which were treated with deference. They evidently had 
the freedom of the premises. No one dares harm them. As 
some one has remarked it would be like kicking a congressman. 



288 Around the World. 

BURNING THE DEAD. 

At several points were blazing wood fires upon which dead 
bodies were being burned. Along the shore were huge piles 
of wood, which were being drawn upon continually for this 
cremation of the dead. The bodies of all those who die for 
many miles around are here burned, and as the tide of mortality 
is an unending one there is not an hour of the day or night when 
this ghastly ceremony is not in progress. Against the protest 
of the female members of our party we insisted upon the boat 
being brought near one of these burning ghats, as they are called. 
While some of the more tender hearted of the party sat with 
averted eyes, we watched the gruesome process. The relatives 
of the deceased person brought down the wood from a large 
pile some hundred feet above, and laid the sticks in transverse 
order until a stack about eight feet long^ three feet wide and 
three feet high had been built, straw being scattered through it. 
The body, wrapped in a cloth of white, covered with white 
gauze was then laid upon it. It was that of a man, who was a 
bachelor. A huge business-like looking native attired in a tur- 
ban and a loin cloth superintended the work, doing so much as 
if he were directing the burning of an animal. A woman, in 
flowing robe of white, the man's mother, timidly and evidently 
much afifected, brought a lighted torch to the pyre, and after 
waving it over the head, handed it to a boy, supposedly the 
man's brother. The boy touched the torch to the straw. The 
mass quickly ignited, and within an hour all was a pile of ashes. 
An effigy made of straw and covered with flour paste, was cast 
into the flames with the body and burned. What its significance 
was we could not ascertain. The ashes were then thrown intc> 
the Ganges. We were told that sixteen days after each crema- 



Benares, Sacred City of India. 289 

tion the relatives of the deceased meet, shave off their hair and 
whiskers and have a feast. We saw subsequently one of these 
feasts in progress. In the same waters of the river where these 
ashes are thrown, and into which all the sewage of the cit}' is 
poured the people were bathing and drinking the water and car- 
rying it away to drink in their homes. No wonder that the city 
is constantly the seat of plague and cholera and many other ter- 
rible contagious diseases. 

SNAKE CHARMERS. 

Sick with these awful sights we left our boat and pushing 
through the dense crowd upon the terrace we were met at the 
top of the platform by three men with some dozen deadly snakes 
which they were winding about their bodies in a most hideous 
manner, some of the reptiles crawling about on the platforms 
where the men stood. Among these snakes was a python of 
huge diameter over ten feet in length and a cobra, a broad headed 
monster, half of whose body stood erect, while he projected his 
forked tongue and glared at his keeper in a horrible manner. 
The cobra is said to be the most dangerous of snakes. 

THE GOLDEN TEMPLE. 

Proceeding farther we passed fakirs, or wise men, taciturn 
looking hypocrites, sitting by the wayside, with open books, ap- 
parently reading and with expressions of owlish wisdom upon 
their immobile countenances. Then we came to a deep filthy 
well, known as "the well of purification," a hole in the ground, 
filled with putrid water in which the people bathe, and which 
is ladled out by avaricious priests and sold to the people who 
believe it possesses divine qualities and eagerly drink it. Next 
19 



290 Around the World. 

we reached the golden temple, which is the fountain head of 
Hinduism, It was crowded with a wretched, half-naked, motley 
crowd, among whom were many miserable beggars and others 
who looked as though they might have every loathesome disease 
from leprosy to smallpox. Some were worshipping brass idols 
of Gods, others a brass elephant, others a brass cow_, until we 
were bewildered by the many forms of idolatry at every turn, 
while the stone floors flowed with grease and slime. Cows and 
bulls were roaming around, sleek and fat, and eating whatsoever 
they wished. The scene was one of indescribable filth, ignorance, 
superstition, wretchedness. The marvel of it all is how it is 
possible for such a religion as Hinduism to exist in this age of 
enlightenment and civilization. And yet hundreds of millions 
profess it. Surely some day there will be rescue for this be- 
nighted people. 

MONKEY TEMPLE. 

There is apparently no limit to the absurdities of heathen wor- 
ship. In Benares is a temple tenanted by monkeys, every one 
of which is regarded as sacred. It is a filthy, repulsive place^ and 
the dirty little apes, from wheezy old patriarchs, blind and cov- 
ered with sores, to impudent and snarling and chattering little 
rascals who will snap your finger off if you are not careful, swarm 
the place, and eat and bound about in all sorts o± fantastic ways. 
And yet to harm or kill one would be regarded a worse crime 
than murder. 

GRAVE OF BUDDHA. 

Five miles from Benares is the grave of Gautama Buddha. 
It is probably the largest tomb ever erected to mortal man, but 



Benares, Sacred City of India. 291 

nearly all that is left of it is a huge mass of brick, all the stone 
work or carving having been torn away 'by the Mohammedans 
centuries ago. It is four hundred feet in circumference and sev- 
eral hundred feet in height. Near to it are the ruins of the first 
temple he built. It is a mass of debris^ and is being exhumed 
from its burial place of several feet below the ground. From 
carvings and statuary that have been dug up it can be seen that 
it must have been a splendid structure. It is said that the British 
government will aid to repair the monument over Buddha. An- 
other illustration of the methods adopted by that government 
to placate and appease the people, while it is squeezing the life 
out of them. But it is to be seen how Christian nations will re- 
ceive this expenditure of money for honoring the greatest leader 
of heathen thought in history while there is contributed not a 
dollar to aid those who are endeavoring to replace the heathenism 
which he inaugurated with a gospel that has blessed humanity 
wherever it has had opportunity. 

HEATHENISM VS. CHRISTIANITY, 

It is past belief that any sane or honest man or woman can 
visit these scenes of heathenism^ where it is exhibited in its 
real coloring, and be moved by other feeling than that of unut- 
terable pity for those who are held in such awful thraldom. In 
contrast with this filth, ignorance, superstition and fanaticism, 
stands the striking, and powerful object lesson of the elevating 
influences of Christianity. If a day's visit to Benares will not 
disgust a man with heathenism and make him a Christian he 
is past redemption. The marvel of it all is that in this day of 
Christian civilization Hinduism can exist at all. 



XXXVII. 

INDIAN MASSACRES AND BRITISH RULE IN INDIA. 

LucKNOW^ India, March 27, 1908. 
No cities in the world recall more tragic tales of horror than 
do Lucknow and Cawnpore. In them in 1857 at the time of the 
Indian uprising against the British soldiers and residents fright- 
ful massacres occurred, the details of which are familiar to all 
readers of modern history. Because the British soldiers in va- 
rious ways made light of the Hindu religion the natives without 
warning rose in revolt and in Cawnpore butchered in cold blood 
over a thousand British soldiers and citizens, including many 
women and children. In Lucknow many were also slain before 
rescue reached them. The murders at Cawnpore were a diabolical 
act of treachery. The foreigners had surrendered to Nana Sahib, 
the leader of the mutiny with the promise of protection. But 
as soon as they were placed upon boats in the Ganges ostensibly 
to be taken to Allahabad for safety the monster ordered them 
to be fired upon. All were slain but one boat load, and two 
hundred others who were brought back to the city, locked up in 
two rooms twenty feet long by ten feet wide without beds or 
even straw to lie upon. They were given one meal a day of 
coarse food, and after fifteen days of gradual starvation Avere 
called out in squads and hacked to pieces. The scene of this 
awful tragedy in Cawnpore is memorialized by a beautiful white 
marble statue of an angel, upon which are inscribed these words : 
"These are they which came out of great tribulation." The mon- 
ument is said to be upon the site of a well into which the bodies 
of 250 of the victims were thrown. 

(292) 



British Rule in India. 293 

At Lucknow the small British force under Sir Henry Law- 
rence, who was slain during the siege, made a stubborn resist- 
ance to 30,000 Sepoys, and after several months of terrible suf- 
fering in which many soldiers and foreign residents were slain, 
the remnant was rescued, first by Sir Henry Havelock and 
afterwards by Sir Colin Campbell, whose arrival when hope had 
nearly expired, was hailed by the familiar song, "The Campbells 
are coming," these having been the words of encouragement 
wdiich kept alive the hopes of the sufferers during the weary 
months of waiting. The regiment was called "The Campbells," 
in honor of their leader. The ruins of the shot-riddled fort yet 
remain. They are covered wdth ivy, but plainly indicate the 
fearful bombardment. Memorials in honor of the two thousand 
victims and their gallant leader have been erected, and few places 
in the world possess more historic interest, especially to English- 
men. Lucknow is now a large and beautiful city, with many 
handsome buildings, public and private. It has broad streets, 
beautiful parks, a thriving foreign population and one can hardly 
imagine it was once the scene of one of the most terrible catastro- 
phes of history. At Delhi also there was a similar uprising 
when many residents were slain. The cashmere gate which 
was blown up by Gen. Nicholson and his regiment of rescuers, the 
bullet-riddled dome of St. James' church and the memorial build- 
ing upon the ridge overlooking Delhi, all these are shown visitors 
as vestiges of the massacre and siege at Delhi, which was as 
bloody as those at Cawnpore or Lucknow. 

The rebellion was finally suppressed, and the natives have 
been made to pay dearly for it. Instead of the 20,000 English 
troops stationed in India at the time of the mutiny, there are now 
over sixty thousand in addition to 150,000 natives, upwards of 



294 Around the World. 

200,000 in all. At Lucknow alone there are 4,000 and there is 
scarcely an important city or town that has not its quota of English 
troops. England has made up her mind not to be caught napping 
again. While there is probably not the danger now of revolt there 
was then, it is plain that there is much discontent among the 
natives and their religious fanaticism is scarcely less unreasoning 
than it was fifty years ago. 

While there can be no palliation for these awful massacres the 
fact remains that England's treatment of this country has not 
been dictated by considerations of judgment, or justice or un- 
selfishness. It originally acquired the territory purely as a com- 
mercial scheme. It has held it by force, and has disregarded and 
ignored the deep-seated and ancient beliefs and traditions of 
the people. However misguided the natives may be they are 
swayed by a religious fanaticism which has been the outgrowth 
of many centuries, and it cannot be eradicated by force. 

They feel that the country is their own, was transmitted to them 
by their ancestors, and has been wrongfully wrested from them. 
It has been taken for selfish purposes and held by an immense 
standing army, which the people themselves are taxed a hundred 
millions of dollars a year to maintain. They have been ground by 
taxation. They have seen most of the positions of their civil 
service pass into the hands of an alien race, while educational facil- 
ities for qualifying their own people for public service have been 
afforded them in only the most meager manner. The hypocrit- 
ical policy of maintaining in nominal power at enormous salaries 
an army of Maharajahs, while their English "advisers" play them 
like puppets, does not deceive the people, most of whom, famine 
and plague-stricken, are sinking more deeply year by year in pov- 
erty and ignorance. It is no wonder that the people are in a 



British Rule in India. 295 

state of turbulent unrest, ready at any moment to rise in open re- 
bellion. Unless England changes its methods it is liable to have 
repetitions of Lucknow and Cawnpore on enlarged scales. 

Nor can people be weaned from their religion, however super- 
stitious and degraded it may be, by force. Evangelization of India 
will not be at the point of the sword. The policy of England, with 
its standing army, its traffic in opium, its saloons under the names 
of chibs, maintained in the army at government expense, its mo- 
nopi;iy of the best places of official position, its remorseless tax- 
ation, its inadequate provision for education, its selfish and cold- 
blooded commercialism, its supercilious treatment of the people 
as serfs, all these and other features instead of changing heathen 
into Christians, will make more and worse heathen. It will 
discredit the works of the missionary and Christianity as well. 

If Great Britain in its government of India would adopt the 
wise, philanthropic policy which the United States has inaugu- 
rated and maintained in the Philippines it would be but a brief 
period before heathenism would begin to disappear in this be- 
nighted land and prosperity and intelligence would prevail where 
are now poverty and ignorance. 

As evidence of this fact the Filipinos have made more progress 
in ten years under American rule than the Indians have in a hun- 
dred under British. 

The reasons for these distinct conditions are fundamental. The 
Englishman by nature and training is aristocratic. He believes 
in caste. He regards colonial subjects of the British crown not 
as individual integers to be elevated and helped, but mere com- 
modities to be utilized, means to an end, subjects to serve him. 
Their depression rather than their elevation is therefore his policy 



296 Ai'ound the World. 

in governing them, to keep them down and in a condition of con- 
stantly deepening inferiority. 

The American, on the other hand, has been trained in the 
school of individualism^ holds to the doctrine that God created all 
men free and equal, and that it is the duty of government as well 
as individuals to lift men up rather than keep them down. 

This explains India's condition at the end of a hundred years 
and the Philippines at the end of ten. 

It will not do to assert that the Indians are less capable of 
elevation than the Filipinos. They are more capable. I have been 
among both and can speak from personal observation. The 
Indians are a distinctly superior race. Not only their personali- 
ties express it, but their past achievements in art and science and 
government prove it. 

The Christian missionaries are doing a great work in India, 
but they are receiving no substantial encouragement from the 
English government or from the English people in India. In talk- 
ing with many Englishmen in India, men of influence in various 
spheres of life, I could always count upon one response to in- 
quiries concerning the results of Christianity in that country and 
that was condemnation of missionaries. Uniformly it was de- 
clared that they were doing no good and some asserted they were 
doing harm. The facts are that they are about the only leaven 
for benefiting the people that exist there. Nor do the English 
believe in educating the Indians. They declare that education 
does them more harm than good and show their faith by their 
w^orks in expending six millions of dollars a year for education 
and one hundred millions for an army which they make the 
people pay. They are also expending many millions more in ex- 
travagant salaries upon official positions held by Englishmen. 



British Rule in India. 297 

Press an Englishman to say why his country holds India and if 
he is candid he will admit that the chief reason is to give jobs 
to her unemployed subjects. 

In all the history of the world we doubt if there ever was a 
more complicated, unintelligible effort at government than that 
which the English are endeavoring to operate in India. Nom- 
inally, it is an English possession. Really, it is an aggregation 
of petty monarchies ostensibly ruled as for centuries past by In- 
dian chiefs, who have no actual power, but are allowed to draw 
enormous incomes, live in gorgeous luxury^ and exercise a power 
that is inspired, dictated and swayed by English officials. They 
are empty figureheads to fool and placate the people. No two 
states are governed alike. There is a governor for one, a lieu- 
tenant-governor for another, a chief commissioner for another, 
and Maharajahs without limit for nearly all. There are wheels 
within wheels and confusion worse confounded. There are courts 
within courts, legislative councils and a great mass of machinery 
which nobody understands and nobody can explain. All agree 
upon one fact only and that is that there are plenty of offices and 
still more people to fill them, while the natives simply groan under 
the awful burden. 

In the meantime the plague and famine are sweeping away the 
people by the million. After a hundred years England with all 
her money and science and power, and all the recent medical dis- 
coveries for the prevention of germ diseases and 30,000 miles of 
railway and several millions of officials, is permitting plague and 
famine to run riot as in the days of barbarism. There are no 
preventives or antidotes for the plague and no adequate provis- 
ions by irrigation or otherwise to prevent famine. It is true there 
is a famine relief fund, but it is raised from the people themselves 



298 Around the World. 

and is not sufficient to stay much of the terrible suffering or prop- 
erly feed the starving. 

Necessarily a hundred years of contact with a superior people 
have benefited many of the natives who have been shrewd enough 
to avail themselves of the opportunities it has afforded, but the 
same influence has cowed into a condition of peonage and servi- 
tude the vast majority^ who cringe before their English rulers 
and abjectly address them as "masters" and allow themselves to 
be treated with all manner of indignity. 

We repeat a statement of a former letter that English rule in 
India, along with IXitch rule in Java, is a crime. We do not be- 
lieve it can continue. And as the natives are becoming better edu- 
cated there are evidences that they will rise in revolt. We do not 
believe that the English are a cruel people, but they have per- 
mitted a system of government in India which is one of the great- 
est cruelties of any age. 



XXXVIII. 

AGRA AND DELHI AND THEIR WONDERFUL ARCHITECTURE. 

Delhi, India, March 28, 1908. 
India is distinguished for its wild animals, its heathenism and 
its architecture. It has many other features of interest^ but these 
chiefly attract the attention of visitors. 1 have written of the 
first two. Its architecture is more interesting, by far, than either 
of them. It is both ancient and mediaeval, if three hundred years 
ago can be denominated mediaeval. It is not modern if that term 
can be applied only to the present century. Neither its public or 
private buildings, unless it be a Maharajah's palace here and 
there and the railroad station and High Court building at Bom- 
bay, and the government buildings in Calcutta, are distinguished 
for architectural beauty. But its tombs and temples and mosques 
erected centuries ago are marvels. They are not surpassed by 
those in Greece or Rome or anywhere in the world. They are to 
be found in many sections of the Empire, but most of those of 
chief interest are in and near Agra and Delhi. These two cities 
are within a hundred miles of each other, and are near the center 
of the country. Both were at one time national capitals. Both have 
suffered from the destructive wars which have periodically swept 
over India, and have been despoiled of much of their former 
grandeur. Delhi has been rebuilt seven times. Enough escaped 
the hand of the vandal to indicate still the wonderful genius 
which existed in times past. While many of these noble struc- 
tures are in ruins, some have been preserved uninjured, their 
splendor and beauty having commanded even the respect of bar- 
barous invaders. 

(299) 



300 Ai'ound the World. 

THE GREAT MOGULS. 

It is essential to a correct understanding of the architecture of 
Agra and Delhi to revert briefly to history. In about the year 
1400 Tamerlane, one of the greatest and most successful monarchs 
of any age, swept down into India, took possession of it and placed 
one of his sons upon the throne. From the days of Alexander the 
Great to that time the country had been in a savage state, and 
its people had accomplished little worthy of record. It is true 
that we find many temples of splendid architecture, whose origin 
is lost in the mist of antiquity, but authentic history of the country 
dates from Tamerlane's possession of it. The sixth king in de- 
scent from Tamerlane was Baber who demonstrated superior 
powers as a sovereign, consolidated and organized the country 
and started it upon a career of prosperity. His grandson^ Akbar, 
proved himself an able ruler and built wisely upon the foundations 
laid by his grandfather. Akbar's grandson, Shah Jehan, devoted 
himself to the building of two magnificent forts and palaces and 
mosques at Delhi and Agra and to the Taj Mahal at Agra, a tomb 
in honor of his favorite wife, considered by many as the most 
beautiful building ever erected. 

These kings were in power from the latter part of the fifteenth 
century until about the middle of the seventeenth, from near the 
date that Columbus discovered America until some time after the 
landing of the Pilgrim Fathers or until the revolt of Oliver Crom- 
well in England. They were the great moguls, and from them 
comes that historic title. They w^ere blood thirsty, licentious ty- 
rants, did not hesitate to murder their subjects and even their own 
brothers, when it served their ambition. But they had large ideas 
and their reigns were marked by a magnificence unsurpassed 
in the history of the world. They left permanent memorials of 



Architecture of Agra, and Dellii. 301 



"-& 



their genius which have since excited the admiration and wonder 
of mankind. Stories of the prodigal splendor of their courts read 
like the tales of the Arabian Nights or Aladdin's Lamp. But for 
the fact that the magnificent buildings they erected yet remain to 
corroborate these stories they would not be believed. It is almost 
incredible that such genius for architecture, such refined taste and 
chaste ideals could have existed among mere barbarians, but the 
proof yet remains in buildings, seemingly indestructible and can- 
not be controverted. 

akra's tomb. 

Six miles from Agra, at Sikandra, is a splendid tomb erected by 
Akbar. There his body lies in a marble cenotaph. Its situation is 
in a large park, entered by a magnificent gate, and leading to it 
is a wide pavement in the center of w^hich is a large pool fed by 
fountains. The mausoleum is of red sandstone, inlaid with white 
^marble, is four stories high and three hundred and twenty feet 
square. While there are some "gingerbread" features about the 
architecture, the workmanship is elaborate. The remains of the 
monarch repose in the basement. At the top of the building is a 
roofless court of pure white marble, of exquisite carving where is 
another sarcophagus, a duplicate of the one which contains the 
body. There is a marble stand near its head on which once 
rested the famous Kohinoor diamond captured by Akbar's son, 
Hiemayon, from the Afghan Prince Sikandra. It is the most cele- 
brated jewel in the world and is valued at over four millions of 
dollars gold. It was captured by the Persians, and by them 
^iven to Queen Victoria, but never worn by her. 



302 Around the World. 

FORTS AND PALACES. 

There are splendid forts in Agra and Delhi, similar in con- 
struction, built by Shah Jehan, Akbar's grandson. Both are of 
red sandstone with moats in front and are several miles in cir- 
cumference. They are said to be the finest citadels ever erected 
but neither would stand long against an hour's bombardment of 
modern guns. In both of these forts are beautiful palaces built by 
Shah Jehan of pure white marble. There are halls of public and 
private audience, baths, bed chambers, apartments for the harem, 
all of magnificent architecture. The carvings and columns evince 
the most refined taste and skill. In the palace at Delhi is the 
celebrated Peacock throne, whose furnishings and ornaments, cost- 
ing many millions of dollars, were carried away by the Persians. 
Only the marble platform remains. On the roof and walls are 
exquisite mosaics of precious stones, valued at ten millions of dol- 
lars. Many of them are inscriptions taken from the Koran, while 
over the throne on the ceiling are wrought in Persian these words 
"If on earth be an Eden of bliss, it is this, it is this, it is this." 

MOSQUES. 

In each of these forts at Agra and Delhi are marble mosques^ 
similar in architectural finish and design to the palaces. That in 
Agra is known as the Pearl Mosque and is justly regarded the 
finest piece of architecture for religious worship in the world. 
The floors are of pure marble, and the massive pillars are also of 
marble and elaborately carved and inlaid with precious stones, 
while the arches and domes are models of symmetry and finish. 
Both mosques are surmounted by white domes of the shape of in- 
verted turnips, this being the universal dome for mosques. One 
of these mosques was built by Shah Jehan, the other by his son. 



Architecture of Agra and Dellii. 303 

The expenditure upon them must have been enormous^ and while 
they are beautiful to look upon and are probably without rivals, 
like the two forts and the palaces, there is a similarity between 
them, a lack of variety and originality characteristic of most an- 
cient art. In India, as in the art galleries and buildings of Europe, 
one is impressed with the fact that while unquestioned genius and 
skill and great care and painstaking are displayed, there is a lack 
of that diversity w^hich marks modern achievements. 

In the city of Delhi, on its highest point, stands Jumma Musjid, 
one of the finest mosques in the world. It is said to have required 
the labor of lo^ooo workmen six years in building. It is reached 
from three sides by flights of forty steps, 140 feet long at the base. 
It is entered by lofty and noble gates of red sandstone inlaid with 
white marble, and in front of the main building is an open court 
450 feet square, with marble floor, in which fifteen thousand per- 
sons can worship at one time. It has three monster domes and tall 
minarets at each corner. It is the most conspicuous building in 
Delhi. In one corner visitors are shown what is claimed to be an 
original manuscript copy of the Koran in the handwritings of 
Mohammed's son and son-in-law, a piece of stone, with the im- 
press of a human foot, which we were solemnly informed was 
made by Mohammed himself. We were also shown one red hair in 
a glass case which it is claimed was taken from the prophet's head 
or beard. The prophet was red headed, and for this reason 
many Mohammedans dye their hair and whiskers that color. 

akbar's summer palace. 

Taking carriages at five o'clock in the morning we drove 
twenty-two miles from Agra to Fattehpur Sikri, at one time the 
seat of government and afterwards the summer palace of Akbar. 



304 Around the World. 

It is now and has been for centuries deserted. The causes which 
led to its construction are interesting. The Emperor, it is said, 
greatly desired a son to inherit his crown. Returning one day 
from one of his campaigns, he was camping near a cave, where 
dwelt a wise and holy Brahmin named Shekh Selim, who was un- 
derstood to have great influence with those deities who control 
the bringing of babies into the world. The king communicated 
his desire to the seer. The latter had a son six months old who 
immediately spoke up and said he would die and thereby the king 
would have a son. The offer was accepted. The boy died and the 
king's wish was gratified in the birth of an heir. In gratitude to 
the Shekh he built this palace upon the spot where the heir was 
promised, and in it he had the remains of the Shekh buried in a 
beautiful marble tomb, the vault being inlaid with mother of 
pearl, and inclosed in a marble screen. To the latter we observed 
large numbers of small ribbons and cords of various colors tied. 
We were told that they were tied by persons^ who like the king, 
desired heirs, as it was understood to be a never-failing recipe. 
We have related all this to show for what absurd reasons these 
old kings spent the money and sacrificed the lives of the people. 
This magnificent structure is said to have required a hundred 
thousand workmen many years in building and to have cost the 
people of India a hundred millions of dollars outside the wages of 
the workmen, who were compelled to work for nothing. It was 
abandoned after fifty years. It is an enormous pile covering fifty 
acres, is of red sandstone and includes courts, residences for the 
Mohammedan, Hindu and Buddhist wives of the monarch, his 
baths, public and private audience halls, rooms for servants, 
stables and all the appointments of his court. In style of architec- 
ture it is similar to that of his tomb near Agra. 



Architecture of Agra and Delhi. 305 



SEEN ALONG THE WAY. 

The drive from Agra to Fattehpur Sikri afforded the best op- 
portunity we had in India for observing life of the country out- 
side the cities. It was along a broad, smooth road of macadam, 
shaded by lofty tamarinth trees. The roads in India are ideal. 
Ox carts, laden with vegetables for market, or donkeys with their 
burdens of freight, were met continually. Hundreds of natives 
fleeing from the famine and carrying their few household effects 
and driving their goats and cows and donkeys dragged themselves 
along, footsore and weary; with the light of hope gone out of 
their careworn faces. Monkeys were in the trees, wild peacocks 
skirted along the adjacent fields. Wild deer stopped and gazed 
curiously at us, but without alarm, for it is contrary to the religion 
of the people to harm them. Parrots and doves and long-necked 
cranes were among the birds which flitted fearlessly near to us. 
By the way, speaking of deer, they have a little deer in India the 
size of a very small calf, which barks like a dog. They call them 
barking deer. Droves of camels came slumping along, in dismal, 
solemn step, and the caw, caw, caw of the crow, the one bird of 
world-wide habitation, kept the air vocal. Wheatfields were upon 
every side. Wheat next to rice is India's chief product. The 
country is very dry after six months drought, but the process of ir- 
rigation is in progress everywhere by the primitive method of 
pumping water by oxen being hitched to ropes and drawing the 
water from the wells by pulleys. It is then poured out upon the 
fields. It is a slow process, but it is the almost only method of ir- 
rigation in India. Water can be obtained everywhere at a depth of 
from twenty-five to a hundred feet. I had hoped to include in this 
letter some reference to all the principal architectural attractions 
of Agra and Delhi ; but I find I have consumed my space without 
20 



306 Around the World. 

even reaching those of chief interest, the Taj Mahal at Agra, and 
the Kutab Minar at Delhi^ the greatest of all. 1 will have to 
reserve them and several others for another letter. 



XXXIX. 
REMARKABLE BTniDINGS IN INDIA. 

Agra^ India^ March 30, 1908. 
In Agra is a building which bears the reputation of being the 
most beautiful in the world. It consists of only two rooms, one 
of which is a basement. It is constructed of but one material, 
white marble, inlaid with precious stones. There is not a particle 
of wood or a nail or a screw in it. The only bond of union of the 
marble blocks is cement. Its construction reveals how Solomon's 
temple was built without sound of hammer. It was finished two 
hundred and sixty years ago. It is said to have cost twenty mil- 
lions of dollars, outside of the labor which cost nothing, and to 
have required twenty-thousand men twenty years to build it. 
It was built by one of the Great Moguls, the Emperor Shah Jehan, 
as a mausoleum for his favorite wifef, and his remains and hers 
enclosed in marble cenotaphs are its only tenants. Its name is the 
Taj Mahal and it is famous the world over. It rests tipon a 
marble platform or pediment which is 186 feet square and eighteen 
feet high. The building itself is fifty-eight feet in diameter at its 
base and eighty feet from base to roof. It is surmounted by a 
dome eighty feet high. Above the dome is a spire of gilded copper 
twenty-eight feet long, making the total height from the ground, 
206 feet. At each of the four corners of the platform stands a 
minaret, one hundred and thirty feet in height. The dome, like 
the domes of all mosques, is of the shape of an inverted turnip 
after the Byzantine style. Four small domes surround the central 
one and are duplicates of it, and at each of the eight angles of the 
roof is a small minaret similar in construction and form to the 
minarets at the corners. Each is sixteen feet in height. The har- 

(307) 



308 Around the World. 

mony and symmetry of the building are complete. There are no 
glass windows, but openings, with marble screens where the glass 
usually is in windows, but set back sufficiently to be shaded from 
the sun. Through these screens the light filters. The interior in 
which rest counterparts of the cenotaphs of Shah Jehan and his 
wife is a rotunda, the ceiling being the internal face of the dome. 
The echo is wonderful, a whisper penetrating the remotest recess. 
A song is taken up and echoed and re-echoed in diminishing vol- 
ume until it gently dies away. The bodies are in marble cenotaphs 
in the basement. The building is inlaid with precious stones, tur- 
quoise, coral, garnet, carnelian, jasper, malachite, agate, lapis laz- 
uli, onyx, sardonyx and numerous others, the whole being a mosaic 
of marvelous beauty and variety and costliness. No words can de- 
scribe the delicacy and tastefulness of its workmanship. No pen 
can convey a correct idea of the wonderful beauty of the building. 
It has been justly prouounced to be a ''dream in marble." If as 
Madame De Stael has finely said architecture is "frozen music'' a 
whole symphony of classic opera is congealed in this architectural 
wonder. I am bringing an alabaster miniature of it home with me, 
but the original must be seen to be appreciated. The building is 
in a park which is entered by a noble gate. A broad stone pave- 
ment pro^bably 300 feet long leads to it, and extends by a pool of 
water and through trees and flowers. On either side is a mosque 
of red sandstone, but all these surroundings are overshadowed and 
forgotten when the gaze is once fixed upon the building itself. 

THE BUILDER. 

Shah Jehan, the emperor who ordered the Taj Mahal to be 
built, did more for the architecture of India than any other man 
who has ever lived. He directed the building of the forts and 



Remarkable Buildings in India. 309 

mosques and palaces at Agra and Delhi, of which mention was 
made in our last letter. As a cruel requital for it he was impris- 
oned by an ungrateful son in the palace which he erected and was 
kept in prison there in sight of the Taj Mahal for seven years, 
when he died. An explanation, whether true we know not, of his 
imprisonment is that he had projected a silver bridge across the 
Jamin river, upon which the Taj stands, with the intention of 
erecting a corresponding structure for his own tomb upon the op- 
posite side of the river. Much building had made him mad and his 
son imprisoned him to prevent him bankrupting the kingdom. The 
placing of sons under restraint by fathers to prevent them spend- 
ing money is quite a familiar occurrence, modern as well as an- 
cient, but this is the first instance that has been called to our 
attention where the son has laid the restraining hand upon a 
prodigal father, even to the extent of putting him in jail. However 
the money spending habit grows, even on old men at times, espec- 
ially if they travel around the world and we are not certain but 
that the boys are justifiable in checking them. I was in the room 
in which this remarkable man was imprisoned. It was not over ten 
feet square and here for seven long years, within a half mile of 
the beautiful Taj Mahal and inside the palace he had erected he 
was a lonely prisoner. His only companion was a faithful daugh- 
ter who is buried in a single grave near Delhi, with only the green 
turf above her. She refused to have any monument over her 
burial place. Shah Jehan's heartless son relented enough after 
his death to have his father's remains placed on a cenotaph beside 
his mother's, and there they rest in the beautiful Taj. 



310 Aromid the World. 

BARBAROUS MONARCHS. 

Notwithstanding the passion of these monarchs for architecture 
and their manifestations of the nobler sentiments in honoring by 
costly monuments those they loved, they were blood thirsty and 
cruel to the last degree. Shah Jehan murdered his own brothers 
in order to obtain the crown. So did several of his ancestors and 
his own son. While he erected these beautiful buildings he was 
himself without education or artistic genius. But he was an abso- 
lute monarch and had unlimited control over the persons and 
property of his subjects. These magnificent palaces and mosques 
and tombs represented the impoverishment and unrequited toil of 
millions, many of whom perished with starvation or by his cruel 
edicts while engaged in their erection. While they are beautiful 
to look upon, they bear mute testimony to the remorseless tyranny 
and cruelty which prompted and directed their construction. 
While the Taj Mahal was a beautiful tribute of affection to a 
favorite wife, its builder had many wives and numbers of concu- 
bines, whose condition, as well as that of millions of women in 
India from that day to this, was worse than slavery. 

These splendid edifices therefore are more the evidences of the 
barbarous despotism of their builders than monuments to their 
nobler qualities. It would be impossible in any nation of the 
world today for any monarch by the sheer exercise of his power 
to construct such structures by the unpaid labor and the unlimited 
taxation of his subjects. The world has made that much progress 
even in India, although it is not certain but that the wrenching 
of over two hundred millions of dollars annually from these peo- 
ple for the support of a standing army and an expensive civil 
service by England is almost as unwarranted and cruel. The 
moguls left behind as the results of their prodigality and tyranny 



Remarkable Buildings in India. 311 

beautiful achievements in architecture for the enjoyment and ele- 
vation of succeeding generations. England in her expenditures 
is leaving only impoverishment and desolation to mark her cruelty. 
Notwithstanding the hundred years of rule by the British Empire 
in this stricken land the glory of India is in the past among the 
barbarians, not in the present under the most powerful of modern 
dynasties. 

THE NOBLEST OF MONUMENTS. 

Eleven miles from the city of Delhi, stands the Kutab Minar, 
which is entitled to the pre-eminent position among monuments 
which the Taj Mahal holds among tombs. It is supposed to have 
been originally started by the Hindus and to have been completed 
by the Mohammedans. It is second only in height to the Wash- 
ington monument, but is a far handsomer piece of architecture. 
It is 238 feet high and its height is exactly five times its diameter 
at its base. It is built of red sandstone, with occasional alter- 
nations of white marble. It has five stories which are indicated 
by projecting balconies. Each story is of distinct construction. 
The first, which is 95 feet, consists of twenty-four faces in the 
form of convex flutings alternately semi-circular and rectangular 
and of alternate courses of white marble and red sandstone. The 
second story is 51 feet, all the projections being semi-circular. 
The third is 41 feet, and the projections are rectangular. The 
fourth is 26, feet and is plain and the last story is 25 feet and 
partly fluted and partly plain. The mean diameter of each story 
is exactly one-fifth its height. The thickness of the walls at the 
base is ten feet. Although it was built six hundred years ago 
it is without a crack or flaw, has survived earthquakes and disinte- 
gration and is as perfect as when first erected. The exterior is 



312 Around the World. 

adorned with much elaborate carving, containing many passages 
from the Koran in which are frequent inscriptions to the one 
God and the prophet Mahomet. Its carvings, symmetry, irre- 
proachable grace and proportion and its architectural finish render 
it beyond question the most beautiful monumental shaft in the 
world. 

A REMARKABLE TEMPLE AND IRON COLUMN. 

Near the base of Kutab Minar stands one of the finest temples 
in India. It is now in ruins, but its architecture is classic and 
unsurpassed. It was built by Hindus, but was afterwards cap- 
tured by the Mohammedans, and by them converted into a 
mosque. In its court yard stands an iron column, which is a 
most curious thing. It is 23 feet 8 inches above the ground and 
is called the "Arm of Fame of Raja Dhava," who was the con- 
queror in ancient days. It was erected about 319 A. D. The re- 
markable feature of interest connected with it is that at that 
period a bar of iron could have been forged. It is estimated to 
weigh six tons, and it has been of comparatively recent date 
that the forging of so heavy a piece of iron has been regarded 
possible. In exploring these ancient structures one frequently 
comes across evidences that not as many things are new as we 
think, and that numerous arts have been lost which have not been 
recovered. 

India's appian way. 

We drove back to Delhi through this field of ancient temples, 
tombs and ruins, visiting numbers of the larger and more im- 
portant. We felt that we had been transferred back thousands of 
years until we almost expected to see the helmeted and mailed 




hteb iTi^rrtlgiaJaEiii &»ana>iU«r. B«iM o«aj)«Uu IM, 



KU7\iBMIXAIi — Near Delhi — I'robaljly the Finest Munument in the World 



Remarkable Buildings in India. 313 

figures of that period issue from these classic structures. This 
fancy was intensified when we learned that the broad, tree-em- 
bowered avenue along which we were driving was the Grand 
Trunk road of India, the most ancient and notable thoroughfare 
in the world which has been a great highway from almost the 
beginning of time. It extends from eastern India through Turk- 
estan to Persia and Constantinople and even to Moscow. More 
people travel over it than over any other road on earth. It was a 
beaten track before the Appian Way had been blazed out, and 
along it Tamerlane, Alexander the Great, Napoleon and the 
mighty conquerors of the past have led their victorious armies. 
We were indeed in the midst of ancient and historic scenes, and 
the effect was to stir within us sensations we have not had before. 

OTHER REMARKABLE STRUCTURES. 

While the most attractive ancient architecture is to be found in 
Agra and Delhi those two cities do not monopolize all the beauti- 
ful buildings of India. The latter are scattered all over the Empire. 
At Mount Abu are two Jain temples, called Dilwara, which are 
probably the most elaborately carved structures in India. They 
are of pure white marble and look like caskets of jewels. The 
carvings inside and out of human figures are something wonder- 
ful. They were built in the twelfth century and are said to have 
cost ten millions of pounds sterling. 

At Udaipur is a remarkable palace of the Maharajah, situated 
upon a lake and resting upon a wall 150 feet high. It is of white 
marble and a most attractive edifice. 

The caves of Ellora in containing a building called Kailasa, are 
in many respects among the most curious structures in the world. 
Here is a temple 300 feet long, 100 feet wide and 70 feet high, cut 



314 Around the World. 

out of the solid rock, inside and out with wonderful carvings 
of elephants' heads of life size along the base. On each side of 
this extraordinary structure are fifty other temples, each as large 
as an ordinary church, also carved out of solid rock. 

At Chitoezarh, near Udaipur, is a remarkable rock fortress in 
ruins, and towers of victory and of fame of pure white marble, 
looo years old and only second to the Kutab Minar in architectural 
beauty and construction. 

At Bombay is the celebrated cave of Elephanta, on an island 
near the city in which upon pillars and upon the walls are carv- 
ings of figures of elephants and heathen deities of classic skill 
and accuracy. How such an artistic achievement was wrought out 
of solid rock is past comprehension. There is nothing handsomer. 
It is a splendid temple, full of handsome statues, carved out of a 
cave. 

At Madura is the largest Hindu temple in the world. It is five 
miles in circumference and of most stately and remarkable pro- 
portions. Its roof is lined with gold. 

There are many others, and one leaves India bewildered, as well 
as saddened, when he reflects that nearly all these splendid edi- 
fices were the products of an idolatrous fanaticism, the mere ex- 
pressions of heathen superstition. As in Greece and Rome it is 
demonstrated that the highest order of genius and talent has 
often been accompanied with the grossest religious darkness and 
ignorance. 



XL. 

JEYPORE: A TRULY REPRESENTATIVE CITY OF INDIA. 

Jeypore, India, April i, 1908. 
The most typical Indian city which we visited was Jeypore, 
spelled also, Jaipur, and several other ways. While we saw Indian 
life elsewhere, it was either confined to certain phases or was with 
foreign adulteration. At Jeypore we had the genuine article, in 
which were all classes, conditions and characteristics of the peo- 
ple. It was the India of the imagination^ with its rich coloring of 
costume and architecture, its elephants and camels and monkeys 
and tigers and peacocks and last, but not least, its Maharajah. Its 
only modifying condition was that it is not ancient, having been 
rebuilt not a great while ago by a Maharajah, who modeled it 
after modern cities. Its streets are wide. Its principal one re- 
minded us of Broadway of our own beloved Columbia, Missouri. 
Every time we drove down it we enjoyed locating upon it in our 
imagination the familiar buildings of the blessed town which gave 
us birth and which we long so much to see again. But the like- 
ness is only in the width of the streets. The buildings and the 
people and all else are as different from those of Missouri's 
Athens as can be imagined. The city has been painted red, not by 
convivial revelers at night as too often happens in America, but by 
sober heathen with actual red or pink paint. It is said to have for- 
merly been motley and unattractive. The Maharajah who owns 
it being a man of taste, had the entire city painted a pink color, 
with certain white trimmings to relieve the monotony. While the 
effect is more or less tawdry, the material used looking more like 
kalsomine or "whitewash" than paint, it is novel. There is no 
other city like it, 

(315) 



316 Around the World. 

THE PEOPLE^ STREETS, BUILDINGS, ETC. 

The population is almost entirely native. Their dress is the 
most brilliant we have seen anywhere^ except in Burmah. Red 
and green and yellow and all the rainbow colors prevail. There 
are no large business establishments, the business being conducted 
in small booths or shops, not over ten feet square, and elevated 
several feet above the street. Little business is transacted during 
the day on account of the intense heat. After five in the afternoon 
the shops are thrown open and most of the articles of merchan- 
dise are brought out upon the sidewalk, of which there are four 
on each side of the street. There they are spread out for sale 
and present a scene of color and novelty that is most interesting. 
Dry goods, hardware, tinware, curios^ vegetables, groceries, every- 
thing of merchantable character is exposed, while the entire pop- 
ulation, an enormous throng, fills the streets. And such a scene ! 
Mohammedans, Hindus, Brahmins, priests, merchants, coolies, 
soldiers, beggars, members of the royal household, all classes and 
conditions arrayed in all phases of oriental costume, from a loin 
cloth of the coolies to the picturesque shawls and dresses of the 
tradespeople and the rich and brilliantly decorated robes of the 
Maharajah's household. Jewelry was greatly in evidence among 
both men and women, especially women. The lady who went to 
Banbury Cross with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes is 
well represented. Not only do they wear rings upon their fingers 
but upon their wrists and ankles in huge size and in large numbers 
and of gold and silver and every precious stone. Besides, they 
wear them in their ears, and noses, and some pierce their lips, 
while the feet and toes are frequently literally covered with 
decorations. Even the poorest are decked out in this jewelry, 
often cheap and shoddy but frequently expensive. The natives 



Jeypore. 317 

may have but one garment upon their bodies and that a very 
brief one, but at the same time shine resplendently in jewelry. 

cows, CARTS, ELEPHANTS, TIGERS, ETC. 

Roaming- about among the crowds with absolute freedom, for no 
one dare molest them, were sacred cows and bulls, fat and sleek, 
for they do not hesitate to walk up to a huckster's stall and eat 
his vegetables if they desire them. The color scheme also ex- 
tends to the ox carts, wherein ride Mohammedan w'omen, con- 
cealed from view by curtains of brilliant hue, or which are used as 
ordinary conveyances for the people or for freight of all kinds. 
Not only are the carts painted in bright colors, but also the harness 
and yokes and the horns of the oxen. We observed several oxen 
with green horns but so far as we could discern they were as wise 
as the others, and we were unable to discover that there was any 
reason why greenhorns of the human variety should have de- 
rived their titles from them. Moving through the streets were 
•elephants bearing their human freight with stately and majestic 
tread. Solemn camels came tramping along like walking somnam- 
bulists, and it is not uncommon for fierce tigers and leopards to 
he led through the streets with muzzles over their mouths to pre- 
vent them devouring the people. Jeypore is located in a region 
infested by tigers and leopards and all manner of ferocious beasts 
of the man-eating species. We saw numbers of these in cages 
but recently captured in the jungles. They were wild and 
fierce in the last degree. As we stirred them up with a walking 
■cane, feeling very brave with iron bars between us, and had them 
rush at us with hoarse roar, flashing eyes and snapping teeth, we 
realized the truth of the stories to be seen daily in the newspapers 
-of hunters who are attacked and torn to pieces by them. When 



318 Around the World. 

we came to India we were anxious for a tiger hunt, but we soon 
discovered that it would be wise to limit our ambition to squirrels 
and rabbits and deer in Missouri. We concluded that we had not 
lost any tigers. To wound a tiger or leopard and not slay him is 
to invite sure attack, which will be fatal unless the huntsman is 
upon the back of an elephant or upon a fleet horse, 

PIGEONS, PEACOCKS AND MONKEYS. 

It is a penitentiary offense in Jeypore to kill a cow, a pigeon, 
a peacock or a monkey. Hence these are in great evidence. They 
are sacred, and have more privileges than the people. The streets 
swarm with pigeons. They cover the housetops, and the side- 
walks and when they desire, enter the shops and dwellings and 
help themselves. There is a beautiful tower in the heart of the 
city set apart for their abode. Monkeys clamber around upon the 
buildings or scamper through the streets or play hide and seek in 
the trees at their own sweet will. Peacocks in all their glory of 
brilliant plumage may be seen perched upon house tops or roaming 
through fields and gardens in the suburbs. You can imagine the 
picturesqueness, novelty and interest which all this combination 
of color and human and animal life gives to a city. 

A RIDE ON ELEPHANTS. 

At Jeypore we enjoyed the novelty of an elephant ride to the 
ancient city of Amber, three miles distant. It was an intensely hot 
day and the heat, as well as the elephants, will linger long in our 
memory. If you never rode on an elephant you may be interested 
in knowing how it feels. The monster is a docile and accommo- 
dating individual. He kneels down fore and aft, and then a lad- 
der is needed in order to reach his summit. He remains still until 



Jeypore. 319 

his keeper punches him with a steel jibe. Then he begins to get 
up. His hindquarters rise first, when you find yourself on a slid- 
ing plane of forty-five degrees. If a man you yell. If a woman 
you scream. He waits half a minute, then he brings his forelegs 
to a vertical position and plants them in a way that makes you 
feel there was an earthquake. Then he starts off, his keeper 
astride his head with a sharp instrument which he frequently and 
apparently unnecessarily jabs into him while you sit upon a bench 
that runs parallel with his body the long way, that is you face front 
sideways. My wife and myself occupied one elephant and the 
other four members of the party, the other. Whether it was our 
dignity or our weight that secured to us an animal all to ourselves, 
we were unable to ascertain. When the monster starts off he 
moves his front and hind legs on the same side at one time. We 
do not know of any other mammal that has this peculiar move- 
ment. Viewed from the front there is something majestic about 
it, but from behind it has the mincing and waddling motion of a 
young University student who has just entered a secret fraternity, 
has bought a new suit of clothes and is struck on himself. The 
elephant carries a lot of water somewhere under his mouth, which 
he uses for two purposes : to drink when he is thirsty and to squirt 
upon those who ride on him. He keeps this up with more energy 
than he does his locomotion. Molasses in January is said to be the 
slowest thing in nature, but it is swift as compared with an ele- 
phant on a hot day in India. We were three hours going six 
miles. One of the party had sun-stroke, and the remainder very 
nearlv melted. 



320 Around the World. 

THE MAHARAJAH, 

The most interesting and important personality in Jeypore is 
the Maharajah. He not merely governs the town; he owns it. If 
you are not exactly sure you understand what a Maharajah is I 
will endeavor to explain. He is a descendant of a long line of 
Indian princes or rulers, who have been in monarchial control of 
a certain state or province since the days of the moguls or before. 
When the English got control of India they agreed by treaty to 
permit their Maharajahs to hold their places with the under- 
standing that what they did had to be at the advice of a resident 
English afificial, and by approval of the English government. 
Really, England has a string attached to him in such a way that he 
has no final or actual power of his own and is therefore responsible 
for his acts. But so long as he does not interfere with English 
interests in any way, lets England keep all the fat offices except 
his, he is permitted to go ahead and do as he pleases. There are 
many Maharajahs, of all grades, conditions of power, income 
and jurisdiction. They are distinguished in rank by the number 
of guns that are fired in their honor when they go visiting. These 
guns run from twenty-one down to eleven. The Maharajah of 
Jeypore has seventeen fired for him, showing that he is high up. 
The Maharajahs practically own the states they nominally govern 
and hence they have tremendous incomes, running all the way 
from a hundred thousand dollars up to millions. They can levy 
whatsoever taxes they please, and have the power of life and 
death over their subjects, all, however^ subject to English advice 
and approval. They may have all the wives and concubines they 
want. As a rule, they are coarse, ignorant and sensual. Some of 
them are well educated and capable. The Maharajah of Jeypore is 
one of the most intelligent and progressive. He has but three 




AT JEYPORE, INDIA — Elephants In Procession — Maharajah — Mohammedan Cart, 
Vehicle for If 'omen of Higher Classes 



Jeypore. 321 

wives; how many concubines we did not hear. He Hves in a 
palace of cheap and tawdry architecture, but he has unhmited re- 
sources in money, lands, servants and equipages. He is one of the 
few Maharajahs who has visited England. When he did so he 
carried along a full quota of Hindu priests, enough Ganges water 
to last until he returned, kept himself unspotted from Christians, 
maintained Hindu services en route and while in London rented a 
house and lived to himself exclusively. He was impressed with 
what he saw and when he returned inaugurated new and pro- 
gressive methods. He established colleges for the education of men 
and women, at which there are two thousand students, an art 
school, a splendid museum and a hospital. Yet he eats with his 
fingers and sits upon the floor and adheres to all Hindu customs. 

THE Maharajah's stables. 

We visited his stables. They were one of the most interesting 
sights we had in India. He owns several hundred elephants and 
camels, and over five hundred horses, all for his personal use. 
The stables for the horses cover an area of several acres and con- 
sist of stalls around a large open court in which the horses are ex- 
ercised. The horses are of Arabian, Australian, African and In- 
dian breed, are all stallions and mares^ and are handsome animals. 
A few of them are over fifteen and a half hands in height. They 
are mostly saddlers and are ridden by him when he goes tiger 
hunting, of which he is fond. He had killed two tigers the day 
previous to our visit. He also enjoys shooting wild boars, and 
there was one tied by a string in, the compound at the time of our 
visit. He captured it after w^ounding it on one of his hunts. It is 
a razor-back, vicious looking brute. Each horse has one groom, 
a coolie, who stays with him at all hours, sleeping and eating in 
21 



322 Around the World. 

his stall. It requires 500 employees to do all the stable v/ork. 
The horses are ugly tempered. The hind legs or ankles are tied 
with long cords, attached to rings fifteen or twenty feet in their 
rear. This is done to prevent them kicking. The superintendent 
of the stables was a fantastically dressed Hindu^ who looked like 
a Knight errant of the middle ages. The saddles and bridles were 
richly ornamented and when the Maharajah in his royal oriental 
garb is mounted upon one of these spirited, beautifully caparison- 
ed animals the picture is worth preserving. He also owns many 
buggies and carriages for his use and that of his wives. But the 
latter are not permitted to ride horseback nor are any women in 
India. When they go out in vehicles the blinds are pulled down 
and their faces are not visible. When they appear upon the streets 
it is with their heads and faces covered. 

THE WRETCHEDNESS OF THE PEOPLE. 

When we visited Jeypore it was badly infected with the Bu- 
bonic plague, so much so that we were warned that to go there was 
risky. Nowhere did we see such awful poverty. Beggars 
crowded about us even at the doors of the Maharajah's palace 
begging for bread and looking as if they were starving. We could 
but contrast the terrible condition of the people with the prodigal 
and luxurious expenditure of money by their rulers. Here again 
was illustration of how, for a hundred years, England has permit- 
ted this barbaric monarchial system to prevail, whereby a coarse 
potentate can revel in wealth and power, taxing the people at his 
own will, to maintain his luxurious court, while the wretched vic- 
tims of his rule starve for bread or perish with disease. He, 
himself, is rarely ever seen, being afraid to go among the people 
on account of the plague. And yet the Maharajah of Jeypore is 



Jeypore. 323 

one of the most liberal, progressive and enlightened of the hun- 
dred who rule India. Thus England is really maintaining the 
barbaric system of government of the moguls, and adding thereto 
the burden of a standing army and an expensive civil service. 
More, after having introduced a curse of opium it has gone into 
the business as a government of selling it to the people, and thus it 
is enriching itself by the financial, intellectual and moral degrada- 
tion of the people, whose conditions are of course growing worse 
as the years roll on. 

AS TO HOTELS. 

We did not find hotels in India as bad as had been represented. 
But there is one feature of them which was interesting as well 
as exasperating. They struggle hard for business. When we 
reached Jeypore the proprietors of the two leading hotels came 
near coming to blows over their struggle to secure us as guests. 
They made all sorts of charges against each other^ one declaring 
that we were in great danger of the plague if we went to the 
other. We did not catch the plague, but we had an experience 
nearly as bad. It was the ravenous efforts of dealers in silks, 
knives, curios and other articles to sell us their wares. The ex- 
perience was not peculiar to Jeypore. We had it wherever we 
went. After our return from a drive for luncheon we would 
find numbers of these hungry tradesmen with their merchandise 
piled upon the veranda awaiting us. Then began the assault. 
They would beset, harass, beg, importune in the most aggressive 
and persistent manner, until we had to seek cover in our rooms. 
Whenever we appeared they would renew the attack, and when 
we drove away would run after our carriages and cling to them 
until we had to threaten violence to keep them away. We finally 



324 Around the World. 

discovered that the hotel proprietors and merchants were in a 
trust and all played into each other's hands. Many of these ar- 
ticles were valuable, and sometimes there were 'bargains, of which 
we took advantage. It is one of the pests, the unavoidable evils 
of travel everywhere in the orient, but far worse in India than 
anywhere else. 

THE POVERTY AND IGNORANCE. 

Frequently in these letters I have had occasion to refer to the 
wretched condition of the masses of the people. It is so appalling 
that I can not leave the subject. It has made me sick at heart as 
I witnessed it and it was a relief when I got away from the awful 
scenes that everywhere met us. We, in America, have no concep- 
tion of what it means. A few are enormously rich, but the hun- 
dreds of millions are steeped in poverty. Everybody goes bare- 
footed, excepting the very rich, and wear but scantiest clothing. 
One writer asserts that 200,000,000 live on less than five cents a 
day, 100,000,000 on less than three cents and 50,000,000 on less 
than one cent. There are many millions of beggars. Few can 
even afford to eat rice, although it is the chief product. Over 
half the people live on wheat, barley and fruit. The assets in the 
way of implements of the average farmer average in value from 
fifty to seventy-five cents. Farming is the chief means of sup- 
port of a large majority of the people. There are less than two 
acres to each inhabitant, and at this time much of the land is 
non-productive on account of famine. The condition in India 
physically, mentally and religiously, is so pitiable as to appeal in 
tones of horror and despair to the civilized world. We who live 
in lands of plenty and enlightenment can not be held guiltless if 
we turn deaf ears to India's piteous cry. 



XLI. 
FROM COLOMBO TO COLUMBIA. 

Colombo, Ceylon^ April 7, 1908. 
The name of this city is suggestive of the home of the writer, 
and of the famihar Hnes of Bishop Heber : 
"What though the spicy breezes 
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle, 
Where every prospect pleases 
And man alone is vile." 
And yet there is little in the city to remind us of our blessed 
home, or in the island to justify the Bishop's poem. It is as unlike 
the Missouri city as it is distant. Nor have we observed any spici- 
ness in its winds. While its prospects are pleasing we have not 
discovered that its inhabitants are the only vile things it contains 
or are any viler than people elsewhere. If report be true its 
water and its whiskey are viler than its people, and so are its 
snakes and other reptiles and the germs of many contagious 
diseases. It is a handsome city, has wide streets^ beautiful parks, 
a fine hotel, excellent schools and churches. While there is no per- 
fume in its breeze there is an abundance of delightful ozone in the 
air that is wafted from the sea, which is most refreshing after 
our long and strenuous journey through the heat and dust of India. 

BOMBAY. 

But we must go back "a bit," to use an English word Avhich we 
often hear. After leaving Jeypore we had twenty-six hours of the 
hottest and dustiest ride of our experience. It was something 
awful, with the thermometer at no degree in the shade. But for 
a box of ice and plenty of soda water it is doubtful if we would 

(325) 



326 Around the World. 

have survived to tell the tale. It was like traveling through a 
heated furnace. We hailed with delight at Bombay the sight and 
air of the sea, and the best hotel we have seen in Asia. There 
must be something in a name^ for this hotel has the same name 
as India's most beautiful building, Taj Mahal, and like its name- 
sake is superior to all rivals. It actually has elevators and private 
bath rooms with hot and cold water and good fare and service. 
Bombay itself is India's most up-to-date city. It has broad streets, 
fine business houses, handsome public buildings and some fine edu- 
cational institutions established and endowed by the Parsees, the 
wealthiest of its citizens. 

The Parsees are of Persian descent and have maintained their 
identity from the natives, to whom they are decidedly superior. 
There are 76,000 of them in Bombay. They are somewhat darker 
than Spaniards. The men are of a high order intellectually and 
the women are handsome. They are a refined, capable and pros- 
perous people. 

Bombay has the finest printing establishment we have seen in 
Asia. It is that of the Bombay Times which vies with the Allahab- 
ad-Pioneer for pre-eminence among Indian newspapers, and in our 
judgment is entitled to the first rank. It does a large publishing 
business outside of printing a fine newspaper. It employs 1,500 
people and it is the first printing office we have seen in any land, 
America not excepted, which fills our ideal. It is all upon one 
floor 700x400 feet and under the eye of the manager. In this 
one room the typesetting, binding^ presswork, stereotyping are 
done without confusion at a minimum cost. There is the finest 
railway station in Bombay to be found in the Orient and its High 
Court building is quite handsome. Judging by the external, this 
must be a prosperous city. 



From Colombo to Columbia. 327 

NEAR BABYLON AND GARDEN OF EDEN. 

By the way this is the nearest point on our tour to the site of 
ancient Babylon, or the ancient Ur of the Chaldees, whence came 
Abraham, or the Garden of Eden. They can be reached from 
here through the Persian gulf in two or three weeks. It would 
be too hot to go there if we could spare the time. We learn from 
travelers that the trip is easy in winter and very interesting. 
Steamers sail up the River Euphrates to near the site of Babylon, 
a large part of which lies now in the bed of the river. Many in- 
teresting exhumations are being made by Germans. 

THE TOWERS OF SILENCE. 

In two former letters we have given accounts of the Hindu 
method of cremating their dead. The Parsees dispose of theirs 
in a manner even more revolting. Near Bombay is a spot over- 
looking the city enclosed by a wall upon which at all times may 
be seen rows of buzzards, or vultures solemnly perched. The 
place is called the Towers of Silence. It is the Parsees' burial 
ground. The dead bodies are taken inside the walls, stripped and 
laid upon an iron grating and are devoured by these birds of prey. 
The bones are left to bleach in the sun, and after they return to 
dust are thrown into the sea. 

TRIP TO COLOMBO. 

We had intended going from Bombay to Colombo by rail. 
But we were warned by old residenters that on account of the 
heat it would be dangerous, at the peril of our lives possibly. 
After our experience in Central India we were ready to believe it. 
There have been cases where able-bodied tourists have actually 
perished upon this trip. There are two or three cities, Madras, 



328 Around the World. 

Madura, Trichonopoly and Tuticorin, which we desired to visit, 
as they contain some interesting temples and ruins, but we had to 
forego the pleasure. In one of these temples it is claimed that 
Cain and Abel are buried, and as we had endured almost all 
kinds of fable we were anxious to look into that also. But we 
came to Colombo by steamer and had a fine chance to recuperate 
and cool off. 

THE PEOPLE OF COLOMBO. 

Like all seaport cities there is more of a cosmopolitan popula- 
tion at Colombo than in interior places. The city seems prosper- 
ous, and the natives appear more intelligent and cleanly than in 
India. They do not wear many more clothes but they wear clean 
ones, comb their hair smoothly and both men and women wear 
tortoise shell combs in the hair. The most distinctive thing we 
have observed about Colombo is the small ox carts which are uni- 
versally used for passenger service by the natives. Little oxen are 
hitched to them. Bits are put in the mouths of these diminutive 
bovines, they are driven by lines^ are harnessed, and it is surpris- 
ing what loads they can haul and how rapidly they can trot. There 
is but one ox to a cart. The driver sits within a foot of him, and 
either whips him, or twists his tail. They trot as rapidly as horses. 
We saw some hitched to buggies. All over India oxen are driven 
either by ropes through their nostrils or in their mouths, and the 
ox cart is the one universal vehicle for passengers and freight. 

JUGGLERS. 

Ever since we have been in India we have made effort to find 
a juggler who could perform some of the many tricks for which 
Indian jugglers are famous. We found at Colombo one who did 



From Colombo to Columbia. 329 

some queer things. Without the aid of any dark curtains or side 
Hghts or mirrors or any apparent assistance, out upon the grass 
in front of the hotel verandah, with only a cheap bag and a music- 
al instrument from which he evoked most weird sounds, he did 
many things that were certainly remarkable. He planted a mango 
seed and apparently made the plant grow while he held a cloth 
over it. He would produce from his mouth piles of stones, which 
would as mysteriously disappear. He pulled countless yards of 
colored cloth out of his mouth, and finally opened his mouth and 
smoke issued from it. Then a flame poured out which boiled 
water and set grass on fire. He was within six feet of us. That 
it was deception we knew, but while he was surrounded on all sides 
by people no one could detect how he practiced the deception. He 
is said to be one of the famous jugglers of the world. He is a 
greasy looking specimen, but neither Hermann nor Kellar nor 
any other we have seen can excel him. 

Ceylon's attractions. 

In many respects Ceylon is similar to Java. Its people claim 
that Bishop Heber had Java in the original of his stanza instead 
of Ceylon, and that some mean and envious Javanese made the 
change of the words. Like Java it has beautiful roads, a fine 
Botanical Garden, an attractive resort at Candy and wonderful 
buried cities. One of the latter is fifteen miles square and is one 
of the world's wonders. Its architecture is remarkable, and its 
origin obscure. The tropical vegetation of the island, the abund- 
ance of tea grown are also points of resemblance to Java, while its 
tropical vegetation is fully as luxuriant. At Euralia is one of 
the finest winter resorts in Asia. Altogether it is indeed true that 
every condition as well as every prospect pleases in Ceylon. And 
it is also true that the people are not as good as they might be. 



330 Around the World. 

THE EMPRESS EUGENIE. 

At the Galle Face hotel at which we are stopping in Colombo 
the Empress Eugenie, widow of Napoleon III^ has been spending 
several weeks. She is quite old and infirm, but retains traces of 
much of the beauty and dignity of bearing for which she was 
famous when Empress of France. Probably no woman of her 
day was more conspicuous and her sad life has excited the sym- 
pathy of mankind in all nations. She bears her years and sorrows 
bravely and even at her advanced age has an attractive person- 
ality. 

SIR THOMAS LIPTON, SNAKES AND BIRDS. 

Another interesting personality in Ceylon is Sir Thomas Lipton, 
who won once or twice and probably lost as many times the yacht 
cup from America in several celebrated races. He has large tea 
interests here. A few days ago while out motoring he and an- 
other gentleman captured a live cobra, the most deadly of snakes, 
and brought it to the hotel. It was a monster reptile. Among 
the guests who were much interested in it was the Empress Eu- 
genie. Ceylon probably has more snakes of a deadly kind than 
any other country in the world. They are so common that the 
people are not afraid of them. Speaking of snakes reminds us of 
crows and birds and the way they fly into rooms of the hotel. 
At times they will light upon the table where you are eating and 
snatch your food. Hotel proprietors post up notices in the rooms 
warning guests not to leave their jewelry exposed for fear of the 
crows. 



From Colombo to Columbia. 331 

RELIGIONS AND CASTE. 

As this is the last letter I shall write from India I must before 
closing call attention to the two influences which more than all 
others mould the habits and lives of the people and are the chief 
obstacles to their elevation. One is their religions and the other 
is the rule of caste. Nowhere in the world do these systems ex- 
ercise such a powerful and vital control over the people. They 
are deep rooted through centuries of growth and affect social,, 
moral, intellectual and commercial conditions in a most funda- 
mental manner. AH the people have some sort of religion, and it 
can be said to their credit that however much in error they are 
devout worshipers. If Christians were as faithful in their devo- 
tions their influence would be greater. The vital defect in the 
heathen religions is that they do not contain the ethical element 
and do not wield any especial influence over conduct. Seventy 
per cent^ or over two hundred millions, are Hindus. Their 
religion is a conglomeration of idolatry, fetichism and fable which 
no one understands so far as we have been able to discover. Its 
main purpose is to ward off evil spirits and escape post mortem 
punishment. But there is nothing in it to direct men along the 
lines of righteousness or to restrain them from evil. 

Buddhism was originally a protest against Hinduism, but it 
has largely lost hold in India, having among its adherents not over 
three per cent of the people. And they are not widely different 
from Hindus. The Mohammedans number a little over one-fifth 
of the inhabitants. They are an improvement upon either the 
Hindus or the Buddhists in that they believe in one God, accept 
much of the Old Testament as orthodox and concede that Jesus 
was a wise and correct teacher. But they hold that Alahomed is 



332 Ai'ound the World. 

God's prophet, they practice polygamy, as did Mahomed himself 
and their worship is full of all manner of superstition. The 
Parsees follow Zoroaster and are fire worshipers. There are but 
94,000 of them. All these beliefs hold their devotees with a grip 
of iron. To apostatize from them is to invite ostracism, maledic- 
tion and possibly death. They hold their ignorant followers in 
a vise of fanaticism, that is powerful, and hence the difficulty 
Christianity has to contend with in converting them. 

To this date but one per cent of the people are Christians. Of 
the four Hinduism is by far the worst. It is concentrated im- 
purity, ignorance, idolatry, fanaticism, yet it controls nearly three- 
fourths of the people. It teaches a doctrine of reincarnation in 
two ways : that at death the soul either enters into that of a new- 
ly born person or into an animal. If a person is born blind or with 
some physical or mental or moral defect their theory is that he 
inherited the soul of a predecessor who was evil, good or bad 
according to the manner of life of the owner. The Hindus believe 
in a trinity, in Brahmah, the creator; Vischnu the preserver, and 
Siva, the destroyer, and that all three are united in one. Each one 
of these has his followers. The Brahmins are the priests, and the 
followers of Vischnu and Siva may be identified by the marks of 
red or white upon their foreheads. Nearly all Hindus have one 
or other of these marks on their foreheads. 

AS TO CASTE. 

But the worst feature of Hinduism is its cruel system of caste. 
There are four of these castes which are entitled to precedence in 
the order named as follows : The Brahmins or priests who are 
supposed to have sprung from the mouth of Brahm ; the Kshatrias 
or warriors, who sprang from the shoulders of Brahm ; the Vaisy- 



From Colombo to Columbia. 333 

as or merchants who are supposed to have sprung from his thighs 
while the Sudras or the agricultural or laboring class who are 
alleged to have had their birth in his feet. Then there is an out- 
cast class, whose origin is not given, who are the lowest of all 
and are called Pariahs. The lines of demarcation between these 
castes are definitely and rigidly drawn. 

The rules concerning them are inflexible. Their violation is 
sacrilege worse than murder. For a member of a higher class to 
eat with, enter into business partnership or have any social or 
personal relations with, especially to marry one of a lower class 
is to invite ostracism and anathema of the direst kind. Nor is 
there any opportunity for one caste to rise to another. Once a 
Brahmin, always a Brahmin, once a Pariah, always a Pariah. It 
will be at once seen how difficult it is to reach a people who cling 
to such absurdities. It necessarily obstructs their advancement 
along all lines and prevents that intercourse with each other which 
is essential to social progress and order. What makes it worse 
is that all this fanaticism and folly and superstition has the sanc- 
tion and veneration of thousands of years and to them more than 
all other influences is due the fact that India lies steeped in the 
same ignorance and nonprogressiveness which have hung over it 
from the beginning of its history. 

There is but one solution^ but one hope for the dispersion of this 
darkness and for the letting in of the light, and that is Christian- 
ity. What it has done for other nations it, and it only, can do for 
those nations that are steeped in heathenism. The elevation and 
regeneration of India and Japan and China and all other Pagan 
countries will not be accomplished by the sword nor by the pen 
of diplomacy or statesmanship, nor by commerce, nor by educa- 



334 Around the World. 

tion. All these have tried and failed. The work will be only 
wrought by Christian missions. 

After a careful study of all the heathen systems of Asia and a 
close observation of their influences upon the lives of the people 
I here place on record my deliberate and solemn belief in Christ- 
ianity as the only sane and practical code of ethics, as the only 
religion that is divine and from the true and living God^ and as 
the only hope of the redemption and salvation of all mankind. 



XLII. 

SOME POINTERS ON GLOBE TROTTING. 

On the Red Sea, April 13, 1908. 
Before I started upon this journey a famous globe-trotter gave 
me a brief bit of advice which has been of incalculable value. 
It was this : "When you travel around the world carry with you an 
optimistic mind." After having completed more than half the trip 
around I not only desire to confirm its wisdom, but to commend 
it to others. At last it is the mind you carry with you more than 
the things you see which brings pleasure. An optimistic mind 
lightens hardships, burnishes with interest even things common- 
place, softens hard beds, flavors tasteless food, tolerates, even 
discovers points of merit and interest in unentertaining people, 
and keeps joy and hope singing in the heart under all conditions. 
It is essential to health as well as happiness. Not many, I regret 
to say, carry it with them. A very large number seem to be hunt- 
ing for something to grumble about. The railway and steamship 
lines are loaded with kickers, to use an American term not 
elegant but expressive. They complain of everything, hotels, 
steamers, railways, music, scenery, weather, and all else. The 
more meritorious the thing and the less accustomed they are to 
good things at home the more fault they find. It is a way they 
have of impressing others with their high social or commercial 
station. But they fail. Those, who are used to the best, and 
know what is what, do not find it necessary to exploit themselves 
by turning up their noses and berating the remainder of mankind. 
Some people have no higher purpose in travel than eating and 
sleeping and mere sensual pleasure. You can not wake them up 

(335) 



336 Around the World. 

to the real objects of travel, and to the fact that these other things 
are mere incidents. 

OBSERVATION AND ENERGY. 

Two Other qualities are essential. One is observation, and the 
other is energy. The man who is blind or lazy had better stay at 
home. One must keep his eyes open and must rise early and sit 
up late. He cannot sit down and consult physical ease. He must 
keep going. Real travel is alert, incessant hard work. The tour- 
ist should keep a diary, write down in it all he sees in order to 
impress on his mind what he sees and to retain it. If he can get 
a newspaper to print it so much the better for this will render him 
more industrious in collecting facts and more careful in getting 
them correct. As to whether anybody reads it, about that he may 
smother his conscience. 

ASIATIC HOTELS. 

I have been led into this prefatory homily in order to dispel an 
impression that what is to follow is the result of any pessimistic 
or carping spirit. But having related many things which the 
Orient has, now that I am preparing to leave it is a fitting time to 
tell of some things which it has not. In the first place let it be said 
that there is no sort of comparison between life in Asia and in 
America. Let us begin with the hotels. We have stopped to 
date at twenty-five. We have not been at one that would compare 
with either the Jefferson or Southern in St Louis. Only five of 
them have had elevators, and but four have had bath rooms in 
which was running water. The best hotel at which we have stop- 
ped was the Moana in Honolulu, and the next best the Taj ]\Iahal 
at Bombay. The charges at the hotels in Japan, China and the 



Pointers on Globe-Trotting. 337 

Straits Settlement are outrageously high for the services rendered. 
The tipping system is akin to robbery. A strong stick and a 
determined mind are the only protection. No American hotel 
would tolerate this form of petty larceny which the Asiatic hotels 
seem to encourage, for this is largely the way their servants get 
their pay. The hotels also permit, in fact, are partners with 
hordes of hucksters and tradesmen who hang about the verandas 
and even besiege the rooms of guests and worry them to the point 
of desperation to sell them their wares. 

AS TO FOOD. 

Having had good appetites we have not sufifered for food, and 
have enjoyed the novelty of the changes in different countries. 
But in many ways it falls far short of that in America. We have 
not seen a glass of milk or cream since we left Honolulu. We 
have had everywhere a certain white fluid alleged to be milk, but 
having no chemist along we have been unable to tell whence it 
came or what are its constituents. In China and Japan we saw no 
cows. We have seen them in other countries, but none that 
struck us as competent to transact business. Rarely have we had 
a good cup of coffee, and we have no further hope or expectation 
of a juicy piece of beefsteak until we reach America. What beef 
they furnish is tough and insipid. Chicken is served at every meal, 
but it lacks the flavor of the American fowl. Even eggs are lack- 
ing in savor. There is a wearisome monotony about the bills of 
fare at the hotels. At least five courses of meat are served at 
every hotel, for it is a great country for meat, but of them mutton, 
which is really good, is about the only meat which is palatable. 



22 



338 Around the World. 

THE FRUITS. 

The fruits, like the other food, are insipid. We have had but 
one good orange and that was from CaHfornia. We found it on 
a Japanese steamer between Shanghai and Hong Kong. The 
oranges are small, scrawny and full of seed. There are no lemons. 
India is practically without fruit, and China and Japan are not 
much better. In Java the mangosteen and rambutan are juicy, 
but lack substance and vigor. There is no fruit anywhere in Asia 
to compare with the American apple or peach, or raspberry, or 
strawberry. We ran across a watermelon in Burmah. It 
was green on the outside and red inwardly, but that was 
all. It bore no sort of resemblance to the American 
variety. Even a negro would not have recognized it. And the 
vegetables are as insipid as the fruits. A ripe, rich tomato, a fat 
roasting ear of corn, a luscious dish of cabbage or beets or peas. 
How those of America dwell upon the tablets of our memory. They 
are absent from the tables of the Oriental hotels except in wretch- 
ed counterfeits. The bananas, in this land where they are one of 
the chief products, are not to be compared with those to be had 
even in Missouri. 

AS TO WATER. 

And then there is water, nature's beverage, which we have been 
taught from childhood is the elixir of life, to be sought above all 
drinks, in fact the only drink, which bears the stamp of moral- 
ity and health. I have thought of all the temperance societies that 
have existed in the past, have recalled the temperance addresses to 
which I have listened and which in fervid eloquence preached the 
Gospel of water. There have come across the ocean tidings of 
the great temperance wave that is sweeping over America. We 



Pointers on Globe-Trottinff. 339 



&' 



have even heard that there was to be a local option election at 
our home, the result of which we have not heard, the purpose of 
which was to make water King, the only drink. We have sailed 
over twenty thousand miles of water since we left America, and 
yet for nearly four months we have hardly dared to drink a drop. 
What we did drink was in defiance of the warning that it was at 
the peril of our lives. There is hardly a week that we do not 
hear of some reckless tourist who has died from cholera or plague 
or some other dread disease because he dared to drink water. Do 
not jump at the conclusion that we have been compelled to resort 
to drinks that are stronger and that we are all wild inebriates 
reveling in wine or beer or even Scotch whiskey and will return 
home candidates for Dwight. We have done nothing of the kind. 
But we have had to drink apollinaris, soda, Tansan, lemonade, and 
other adulterated and charged waters until we doubt whether we 
could recognize the pure article if we saw it. You must admit 
that things are pretty bad in a country where water is conceded to 
have death lurking within it, to hold a million microbes to the 
spoonful. We are inclined to think that there is a good deal of 
nonsense about this fear of water, and our private opinion is that 
many make its alleged impurity a pretext and gladly so for drink- 
ing whiskey. We heard a little whipper-snapper of a doctor on 
one steamer even declare that in his judgment the drinking of 
whiskey was essential to health and life in India. Such tommyrot 
is undoubtedly the cause of much of the intemperance which pre- 
vails to an extent that is alarming among foreigners in the Orient. 
If there is a spot in the world where a crusade for water needs 
to be started it is here. 



340 Ai-ound the World. 

THE STEAMSHIPS. 

The best food and service and the sweetest and coolest atmos- 
phere one enjoys in the Orient is upon the steamships. We have 
therefore hailed with eagerness every opportunity to board one. 
To date we have never been in a storm and conditions have been 
delightful. We have not yet been upon a bad steamer. Most 
of them have been excellent, but we must give the palm to the 
North German Lloyd as the finest of them all. I write this upon 
one of their beautiful steamers as we are sailing from Colombo to 
Port Said. We have been on the ship for five days and are due at 
Port Said five days hence. The sea is smooth, the atmosphere 
delightful and the service all that could be asked. No other ocean 
experience has been equal to it. Instead of the Indian ocean be- 
ing hot and sultry as we had expected it is cool and balmy. While 
the days are pleasant the nights are beyond description. The deep 
blue sky and brilliant stars, the Southern cross standing out in 
bold relief, the placid dark blue ocean, the delicious atmosphere 
stirred only by the gentlest breezes, the music of two bands at 
either end of the ship^ the finely dressed people^ the sensation of 
quiet and restfulness, all these make a night upon this ocean some- 
thing to linger like a dream in memory always. We today enter 
the Red Sea, and the fact that we are so near to lands hallowed 
by a history sacred to all who believe in the Christian's Bible and 
the Christian's God imparts additional interest to the experience, 
and makes one grateful that he is alive and blessed with health 
and such opportunities. 

HAVE HAD NO HARDSHIPS. 

Do not gather from what has been here written that we have 
sufifered from hardship upon this tour. On the contrary the ex- 



Pointers on Globe -Trotting. 341 

perience has been one of continual pleasure and delight. These 
slight discomforts, or rather the lack of all the comforts of Ameri- 
can life has given variety and novelty to the trip, and caused us 
to seek the more for compensating enjoyments in the sights along 
the way. Barring a slight accident which kept the writer in his 
room several weeks in Japan and a chance to rest, we have not 
had a day's sickness or delay or discomfort. Nothing worth hav- 
ing in this world can be obtained without sacrifice, and with our 
optimistic mind ever with us these strenuous experiences have be- 
come pleasures. 

NO COMPARISON WITH AMERICA. 

While there is much in the Orient to interest the traveler the 
conclusion is forced upon him the farther he goes that this country 
is yet a thousand years behind America, and there is not much 
prospect that it will ever attain to rivalry. In the first place the 
Creator has made these people upon a lower plane. They never 
can reach unto the estate of the Anglo-Saxon, The wide chasm 
between the two races is nowhere more vividly illustrated than 
over here. Everywhere, when the two are thrown together, the 
white man rises immediately to pre-eminence, and the yellow 
and black races recognize and accord to him the superior place. 
God has also made this country for the people who now inhabit 
it. Their color and organizations indicate it. The heat is too 
great or the cold too intense for the whites. Nowhere in Asia, 
unless it be in China will it ever be practicable for Europeans and 
Americans to live. It will not be possible there because it is al- 
ready occupied by Chinamen, has been for thousands of years 
and will and should be for thousands to come. 

While the Asiatics have wrought well in some lines, are skilled 



342 Around the World. 

artisans and clever tradesmen, one looks in vain for any really 
great achievements as the result of their thousands of years of 
history. In commerce, and government and education and relig- 
ion and in social life they have made but little progress beyond 
that which has been wrought for them by foreigners, or which 
they have done under the latter's tutelage or in imitation of them. 
It is true that the splendid temples and tombs and other archi- 
tectural piles are remarkable. But these have been due to four 
causes, religious fanaticism, which led to the belief that these 
structures purchased eternal happiness, unlimited power of a 
monarch who could command thousands and if necessary millions 
of the people to work upon them without pay, the servility of the 
people, who would submit to this employment, and the unques- 
tioned genius of the architects, who are thought to have been 
either Persians or Greeks or Romans. 

The more one observes conditions in the Orient the more he is 
grateful that he lives in a land and under a flag which vouchsafes 
health, happiness, prosperity, progress and freedom. The more 
also he should realize his mission to help and to elevate these peo- 
ple who have sat so long in the regions of darkness, and whom it 
is our duty as their brethren to bring into the realms of light. 




CA 

-a 






AFRICA— EGYPT. 



XLIII. 

AFRICA. 

Port Said, April 17, 1908. 
When we reached Aden, the port of entrance to the Red Sea, we 
encountered for the first time our black 'brother of the kinky head. 
He came upon the vessel in swarms and during our stay 
of several hours plied a vigorous trade with the passengers in 
ostrich plumes. Ostriches are plentiful in this region. We were 
reminded that we were within a few miles and in sight of Africa. 
Many travelers take vessels south from this point and disembark 
at a port called Mombasa several hundred miles distant whence 
there is a railroad to Lake Nyanza in the State of Uganda, five 
hundred miles in the interior. The trip is quite interesting. The 
region is a wild one. In part of it the killing of wild animals is 
forbidden and great droves of them are to be seen. They come 
to within a short distance of the trains. Elephants, zebra, giraffes, 
deer, lions, tigers, rhinoceroses, and all manner of wild beasts may 
be seen in unlimited number. We had read a statement to this 
effect in an interview in a London paper with Sir Winston 
Churchill who had recently traveled over this railroad, and were 
skeptical about it. But upon our steamer were a Mr. Prynne and 
wife of St. Louis just returning from the same tour and they as- 
sured me that it was correct. Mr. Prynne had been there upon a 
visit to Mr. McMillan, formerly of St. Louis, whose father was 
once a prominent Wabash official, and who has a luxurious home 
with all modern conveniences in that wild region. This is the 
region which Mr. Roosevelt contemplates visiting. 

(345) 



346 Around the World. 

ABYSSINIA AND ARABIA. 

In sailing up the Red Sea we pass between Arabia upon the 
north and Abyssinia upon the south. Both are interesting to 
foreigners, but are closed doors. Especially is Arabia. Mecca 
is not over a hundred miles from the coast. Within its sacred pre- 
cints by Mohammedan edict no Christian heretic is allowed to en- 
ter. It is said that but three or four Europeans have been there 
in fifty years. They went in disguise. Among these was Sir Rich- 
ard Burton, whose account of his visit is one of the most thrilling 
narratives in literature. Arabia is nearly all desert. Its inhabitants 
are all Mohammedans and Bedouins. Mecca as is well-known is 
visited annually by more pilgrims than any other spot on earth. 
Abyssinia is also largely sand, but strange to say its inhabitants 
are mostly Christian, although they live in isolation. Its King of 
Kings, as he is called, is Menelik, and he is one of the few absolute 
monarchs that are left. He is said to be wise and humane. Ab- 
yssinia is one of the few countries which Great Britain has been 
unable to get possession of. England controls nearly everything 
else, except the Congo State, in Africa, which is worth having. 
Abyssinia is six times the size of the state of Missouri and con- 
tains the same number of inhabitants, between three and four 
millions. It is an argricultural country, but the people do npt be- 
lieve in work — like many other Christians. Barley, whea^, rice 
and the ordinary vegetables are grown. A railroad has recently 
been built through the country. North of Abyssinia we pass 
Nubia, also a sandbank, and then we reach Egypt, of which more 
later. 



Africa. 347 

AS TO AFRICA. 

Of course, we can not enter into any detailed account of a coun- 
try as large as Africa. But we learn from tourists who have re- 
cently visited it, some facts that may be of interest. Since Stan- 
ley's explorations it has attracted much attention, and considerable 
capital has been invested in various sections. Many thousands of 
miles of railway have been built in different directions, making 
entrance to it easy. There is a railroad to Khartoum, another out 
into the Sahara and many in the southern portion. The opinion is 
gaining that fully nine-tenths of the country is impracticable for 
settlement by the white race. One reason is that a large part is 
desert. This desert by the way is not all sand nor is it all a level 
plain. Much of it is broken and mountainous. It is simply void 
of water and vegetation^ and there is but little prospect of re- 
claiming it by irrigation. Wolves and jackals are its chief inhab- 
itants. 

HEAT AND DISEASE. 

Another obstacle to occupation by white people is the intense 
heat. Still another and more serious trouble is the universal prev- 
alence of disease, cholera, smallpox, fevers, plague and all man- 
ner of deadly infections and maladies. Some are seemingly irre- 
mediable. In the state of Uganda there is what is called the ''sleep- 
ing sickness," an almost surely fatal infection caused by the bite of 
a fiy, which has of late years swept off millions of the population. 
There are numerous poisonous insects which penetrate the skin, 
deposit poisonous microbes and rarely fail to kill. It is not only 
hazardous to live in the country, but to visit it. The English gov- 
ernment has expended a great deal of money in sanitary commis- 
sions which have endeavored to discover some antidote for these 
diseases, but they have made little headway. 



348 Around the World. 

SINAI AND THE ISRAELITES. 

Before reaching the northern end of the Red Sea we passed 
within sight of Mount Sinai. It is one of a range and difficult to 
distinguish. We were anxious to go there, but the distance is 
over a hundred miles and the trip is a hard one, especially at this 
season, when it is hot. We also pass at Suez what is called the 
Wells of Moses, about which several large palm trees are grow- 
ing. They may not have been the wells from which the children 
of Israel drank but they were upon their line of march. A sort 
of thrill passed through us when we felt that within the range of 
our vision was the identical pathway of the Exodus, and it became 
keener when we reached the place where the waters rolled back 
and they passed over dry shod. The wonder is often expressed 
that they did not go around the Northern border of the sea. But 
there was a high wall extending from the Mediterranean to the 
Red Sea guarded by Egyptian soldiers which obstructed their 
march. It followed the line of the Suez canal. The width of the 
Sea at this point is about three miles. It is now the harbor of the 
city of Suez. There is an open plateau on both shores upon which 
it would have been easy for a large multitude to have assembled 
and reached the water. 

THE SUEZ CANAL. 

At Suez we entered the Suez Canal. The sail through it was 
very interesting. Unlike the Panama it is a sea level canal with- 
out locks. It is one hundred and twenty-one feet wide, thirty 
feet deep in the center and ninety-nine miles in length. It was 
opened in 1869 and cost $120,000,000. Its estimated value now is 
$150,000,000. Its annual receipts are $20,000,000 or over fifteen 
per cent upon its original cost. It is operated by a company of 



Africa. 349 

thirty-two administrators of whom twenty are French and ten are 
EngHsh. The government of Great Britain owns one-sixth of the 
stock. Three fifths of the vessels or tonnage which pass through 
it are British. Four thousand vessels traverse it annually and pay 
an average of $5,000 each for the privilege. The vessel upon 
which we are traveling gave a check for $10,000 toll fee before en- 
tering. The rates are a dollar and fifty cents for every ton of 
freight, two dollars for every adult passenger and one dollar for 
every child. No ships drawing more than twenty-eight feet can 
navigate it. There are several Atlantic steamers that could not 
sail on it. Ships are only permitted to run six miles an hour, and 
there are widened portions every ten miles for those which meet 
to pass each other. The canal runs through a sandy plain. As far 
as the eye can reach is desert, broken by a range of mountains 
upon the south and by occasional clumps of palms. The work 
of widening and dredging is in constant progress. The shores are 
supported by stone walls which reach to but a few feet above the 
water. Much of this wall is in ruins. The canal is in poor re- 
pair. About twenty-five miles from Suez it enters the Bitter 
Lakes, a series of which lie in its pathway and stretch out upon 
both sides. On the trip we are reminded continually that we are 
pursuing a pathway parallel to that of the children of Israel in 
the Exodus, and every detail of description of the country as given 
in the Bible is confirmed. 

AWAY FROM THE ASIATICS. 

We must confess a feeling of relief that after five months among 
the half naked natives of Asia we are finally away from them. 
They had "gotten upon our nerves," to use an expression fre- 
quently heard among foreigners over here. A lady who keeps 



350 Around the World. 

house in India told us that they had so wrought upon her that the 
result had been to bring on paralysis for which she had to go to 
America for two years to get relief. The natives do not appear to 
have any nerves. They yell at each other until many of them are 
deaf. They never understand you^ and they will never wait for 
you to explain. Their genius for doing the wrong thing is un- 
rivalled. They can never be hurried. Their capacity for exasper- 
ating is unlimited. Rudyard Kipling has put it in clever verse 
as follows : 

It is not good for the Christian race 

To worry the Aryan brown. 

For the white man riles 

And the brown man smiles, 

And it weareth the Christian down. 

But the end of the white 

Is a tombstone bright, 

With the epitaph of the late deceased. 

And the epitaph clear, 

"A fool lies here 

Who tried to hustle the East." 

KIPLING AND CRAWFORD. 

One hears much of Kipling in India. His father was a promi- 
nent citizen of the city of Lahore, where he built up a fine museum 
and was public leader in other ways. Rudyard Kipling was for- 
merly a reporter on the Allahabad Pioneer and thus glided into 
literature. His books are fine pictures of Indian life. You have 
perhaps noticed that some countries and climates beget poets, and 
are a congenial and fertile soil for literature. This has been true 
of India. At Delhi we visited the tomb of a poet whose songs are 



Africa. 351 

yet sung all over India as are those of Burns in Scotland. His 
tomb is kept covered with fresh flowers by his admirers although 
he has been dead many years. Many of the people have an appreci- 
ation of literature. Francis Marion Crawford, the novelist, came 
to India as a soldier, never having had any literary inclination. 
But the romantic life of the country inspired him to write a book. 
He became famous and henceforward the microbe multiplied and 
he wrote many books. 

But while there may be occasional geniuses who are inspired by 
the peculiar conditions of tropical life this section of the world 
will never produce men or women who can bring things to pass as 
do those of the temperate zones., Nor will it ever be possible for 
the white race to live here and achieve the same results as where 
the climate is less hot and enervating. This must ever be the 
home of the yellow and the black man who never will and can 
never attain to the estate of the white man. 



XLIV. 

EGYPT. 

Cairo, Egypt, April 20, 1908. 
The increasing intensity of the heat and the prevalence of 
plague compelled the cutting short of our visit to Egypt. We are 
also anxious to reach Palestine before it shall be too warm to make 
a thorough tour of that country. But a week's stay in this ancient 
land has been most interesting. We came to Cairo from Port Said, 
the western terminus of the Suez Canal, where the statue of 
DeLesseps, its projector and builder, recalls the great debt the 
world owes that extraordinary man. There is nothing else in Port 
Said especially noteworthy. The trip by rail from that city to 
Cairo, a distance of some hundred and twenty-five miles is one not 
to be forgotten. A fourth of the distance is through desert, and 
along the canal. The view of ships in the latter at some distance 
is at first startling. The canal is hidden and the monster vessels 
appear as if sailing along the desert. The fiction of the prairie 
schooner enlarged into a mammoth ocean steamer is here real- 
ized. 

THE NILE VALLEY. 

The proverb "as rich as the valley of the Nile" is well deserved. 
Veering away from the canal our train runs near this historic 
stream where one could easily cast a stone across it. There is 
nothing about the river specially different from other streams so 
far as appearance goes. But without it Egypt would be a barren 
desert. Through its long course of nearly four thousand miles it 
overflows and enriches the adjoining country for a distance of from 
ten to thirty miles, depositing upon it a coating of rich soil in some 

(352) 



Egypt. 353 

places fifty feet in depth, making the region it irrigates the most 
fertile upon the face of the earth. The soil is practically inex- 
haustible, and yields wheat, alfalfa, cotton and other products^ in- 
cluding all kinds of vegetables in rich abundance, some of them 
two or three times a year. The train runs through this verdant, 
opulent region. The green fields of wheat and alfalfa and barley, 
the vegetable gardens, the fruits^ the flowers, the waving palm 
trees, the thriving villages, the many workers in the fields, the well- 
built roads, with their long trains of camels and donkeys, all of 
these present a scene of freshness and life and prosperity which we 
have seen nowhere else, not even in Japan. What a contrast with 
the parched plains and impoverished population of India ! 

A striking contrast is the expanse of green with the bleak and 
cheerless desert which lies just beyond. 

THE RISE IN THE NILE. 

The Nile begins to rise in June and continues until September. 
It then gradually falls until the following June. We are therefore 
seeing it near the ebb. It rises in some places to a height of forty- 
nine feet above its lowest water mark, and in a few regions to a 
height below twenty-five feet. Its water is from rains in the 
desert or mountains near its source, and with the overflow brings 
a constant accretion of soil which makes the stickiest mud we have 
ever seen. It rains but little in lower Egypt. At Cairo there are 
not a dozen rains a year^ and they are only showers. In some 
places it never rains. The country is therefore wholly dependent 
upon the Nile. At times it fails to overflow, and these are periods 
of famine about which we read in the Bible. In these modern 
days they do not come often, and never, as in the times of the 
Pharaohs, seven years in succession. 
23 



354 Around the World. 

The system of irrigation in almost universal use is the same as 
it was in the days of Moses and Pharaoh, by pumping the water 
from the Nile or from ditches fed by the river. These pumps, 
mere water wheels, are turned by oxen. I asked why steam or 
other modern appliances were not used. The answer was that 
where labor is so cheap labor-saving contrivances are unnecessary. 

At present a large dam is being built at Assouan, where there 
will be stored an enormous quantity of water to be used both in 
irrigating a large area and to be held in reserve for years when 
the river does not overflow. This dam will submerge many of the 
most interesting ruins in Egypt. Archaeologists are now busy 
rescuing them before they will be lost forever. But modern pro- 
gress cannot be stayed by the ruins of an effete past. 

CAIRO. 

This is the largest and most important city in Egypt. It con- 
tains 570,000 people, and is more like a modern European city than 
any other we have seen upon our travels in the East. This is due 
chiefly to the fact that it has become the great winter resort for 
the royal and wealthy classes of European nationalities. The cli- 
mate from December to April is delightful. Tourists come here 
in thousands during these months, and spend money in a most 
prodigal manner. There are a half dozen fine large hotels which 
charge prices that would put even the Waldorf-Astoria to shame, 
and as in all fashionable resorts the population is thoroughly or- 
ganized to forage upon tourists. The streets are broad, and well 
constructed, the buildings are handsome and nearly all of stone, 
there are trolley lines, fashionable equipages and handsomely 
dressed people, and the city at night reminds one of Brussels or 
Paris, The people gather in cafes which are open and upon the 



Egypt. 355 

streets, and there is the greatest rush and whir I have seen any- 
where outside of Europe or America. For the first time I have 
observed many fine horses. But coachmen are merciless and 
drive furiously through the streets. The crack of their whips as 
they lash their beasts can be heard at all hours of the day and 
night, and are not only disturbing to one's quiet, but to his 
nerves and his sense of mercy. 

A PUGILISTIC PEOPLE. 

The first characteristic of the people which impresses the visitor 
is that they are self-assertive, contentious and cruel. The Israel- 
ites of old had good ground to complain. The first day we arrived 
we witnessed several fights and for the first time we began to see 
the genuine, old time drunkard, and to feel we were getting near to 
America. In India it was a common occurrence to see English- 
men kicking the natives. But we have not observed any English- 
men kicking an Egyptian. If we do we will expect to see a dead 
Englishman. If there is any kicking done it is more apt to be 
upon the part of the Egyptian, for they seem to enjoy provoking a 
fight, or an imposition upon some one else. Since we have been 
in Egypt we have learned how it was that Moses became ex- 
asperated when he saw one of them abusing an Israelite. We can 
also understand why he slew the Egyptian. Otherwise the proba- 
bility is he would not have lived to lead the children of Israel to 
the Promised Land. England rules this country as she does In- 
dia, but in a much less cruel and domineering manner. The reason 
is plain. The people would not stand it. The streets of Cairo would 
flow with blood if England served Egyptians as she does the 
Indians. 



356 Around the World. 

ANCIENT RELICS AND MONUMENTS. 

The chief interest the tourist has in Egypt is its relation to an- 
tiquity. Everywhere are to be seen splendid memorials of a civ- 
ilization which antedated that of Greece and Rome and than which 
there is probably none older in the history of mankind. This city 
of Cairo, itself of great age, lies between the ancient cities of 
Memphis and On, which were only twenty or thirty miles apart 
and which were the homes of the Pharaohs^ of the Rameses and of 
Moses and Joseph, and were in their day the proudest centers of 
government and commerce and learning on the earth. Now all 
that is left to mark the sites of these two ancient cities are a few 
ruined temples and obelisks, splendid in their architecture, but 
also indicative of the densest ignorance and superstition. 1 shall 
not undertake to describe any of them. It has been done so often, 
and in so much better way than I could that it would be a waste of 
energy. Besides it is hardly possible to convey by pen a correct 
idea of them. I have read of them all my life, but it was not until 
I saw them that I obtained satisfactory knowledge. 

THE PYRAMIDS. 

The two great pyramids near Cairo are well worth seeing. 
The pictures of them, unlike most other ancient monuments, afford 
a very good idea of their appearance. They are reached by a beau- 
tiful driveway from the city. It is overarched with trees and is 
about seven miles in length. It requires an hour and a quarter to 
drive to them from the center of the city. We made the trip twice 
and found it most interesting. Along the way we passed hun- 
dreds of camels loaded with alfalfa, fields of which stretch on 
either side of the road as far as the eye can see them. The pyra- 
mids themselves are on the edge of the desert. Sand has drifted up 



Egypt. 357 

to their foundations many feet. But they are well preserved. The 
largest is 750 feet square and nearly 500 feet high. It is built of 
huge stones which are said to have either been floated down the 
Nile or gotten from a neighboring quarry. There is a companion 
pyramid of same construction^ not Cfuite so large, which, when 
built was covered with alabaster. There are two others much 
smaller. They were built originally as tombs of the kings, and it 
is supposed were made in this form and magnitude as protection 
of the bodies of the buried monarchs against the overflow of the 
Nile. Near to them is the Sphinx, often described, which some 
ancient king is said to have erected as his monument. At Mem- 
phis, ten miles distant, are other pyramids, smaller, but of same 
plan of construction. Also at Memphis are the Tombs of the Sa- 
cred Bulls where these bovine deities were buried with more care 
and splendor than were bestowed even upon human monarchs. 
This ancient city also contains numerous other temples and mon- 
uments. At the city of On only an obelisk remains. There is 
an interest in these cities far above all these memorials of a Pagan 
idolatry. In them no doubt resided Moses. Here he was learned 
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and inaugurated his work of 
disenthralling his people from bondage. 

EGYPT IN BIBLICAL HISTORY. 

At last the chief charm of Egypt is not in its ruined temples or 
obelisks, the glories of its ancient kings^ or its conquests, its 
wealth, or even its achievements in art and architecture, or in its 
climate, or its Nile, or its modern cities, but in the fact that it was 
the scene of certain great events which are held in sacred memory 
by all the Christian world and are among the most important and 
dramatic in the history of the race. As upon a quiet night I sailed 



358 Around the World. 

through the Suez canal I could call to mind that upon one side lay 
the pathway whence two million bondsmen were led thirty-five 
hundred years before by a pillar of fire to the Land of Promise; 
while upon the other side lay another road down which came their 
ancestor, Abraham^ and still later Joseph^ the marvelous boy, who 
under the Providence of God was not only to rescue Egypt and 
start her upon a career of prosperity but to become a benefactor 
and an example to all mankind. Still later his brethren came down 
the same highway and then his father. But more important and 
wondrous than all was the flight of the God child along this same 
road, fifteen hundred years later. Egypt, having been a training 
school to his ancestors, was to be a place of rescue to Him. Thus 
has Egypt been a most important and interesting factor in the 
history as well as the salvation of men. While her history is veiled 
in shadow, from it gleams a light that has illumined the centuries. 

A MOHAMMEDAN UNIVERSITY. 

One of the most interesting institutions in Cairo is the Moham- 
medan University. Its name is Elashker. It is said to be 950 
years old, and is therefore, we suppose^ the oldest university in the 
world. Its number of students no one seems to know, but it is 
claimed to be all the way from 4,000 to 14,000. So far as we could 
learn it had no catalogue. There are two or three hundred teach- 
ers. The only branches taught are the Arabic language, Eg>-ptian 
jurisprudence and the Koran. We visited the institution during 
recitation hour. We were required to cover our shoes with moc- 
casins, when we were admitted to an open court paved with marble 
and about 600 feet square. Upon all sides were open doors to 
large rooms, and this entire space^ occupying several acres, was 
covered with students, sitting upon the floor tailor fashion and all 



Egypt. 359 

seemingly reciting at one time. Many were swaying to and fro 
evidently memorizing, for it is said that the teaching consists 
almost entirely in committing to memory without any special ref- 
erence to a knowledge of the thing memorized. The students 
were of all ages from boys not over ten years to old men. The 
classes were gathered around the teachers as they sat upon the 
pavement together. No language is permitted to be spoken in the 
University except the Arabic. 

OTHER SCHOOLS. 

In Cairo are several large institutions of learning; one of en- 
gineering, another of law, another of irrigation and another of 
medicine. There are also many private schools. The government 
expends but little upon education. Most of the people are ig- 
norant, but few being able to read. 



XLV. 

SIGHTS SEEN IN EGYPT. 

Cairo^ Egypt, April 25, 1908. 
Of the alleged ten millions of people in Egypt over nine millions 
are Mohammedans. Nearly all the people are Arabs. There are 
but few pure blood Egyptians. There are Turks and French and 
English, in fact all nationalities. But the Arabs predominate and 
all are Mohammedans. They believe in one god and that ]\Iahom- 
et is his prophet. They are more difficult for Christianity to 
reach than any other heathen. But they occupy a plane higher 
than those who bow down to idols and who believe that the soul at 
death passes into an animal. They are very devout and many 
of them know the Koran by heart. The}^ are democratic. Prince 
and pauper stand upon the same plane. The spectacle of the 
Khedive and a beggar bowing side by side in prayer is a common 
one. There is no caste, or race distinction. There are no social 
grades. This is the great secret of their power. They object to 
Christianity on the ground that while it recognizes religious equal- 
ity it practices social discrimination. But their standards are low; 
and the moral life of the people is not the best. 

THE ALABASTER MOSQUE. 

There are said to be five hundred Mosques in Cairo. But the 
finest is the Mohammed Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque. It cov- 
ers five acres and reminds one of St. Paul's Cathedral at Rome. 
The building is lined with pure alabaster and the pillars and dome 
and internal finish are noble specimens of architecture. The floors 
are covered with costly rugs and the chandeliers and decorations 
are gorgeous. It is 125 years old and is situated upon what is 

(360) 



Sights Seen in Egypt. 361 

called the citadel from which there is a magnificent view of the city 
and of the country far beyond. The Nile, the pyramids, the many 
spires and domes and the many miles of verdure present a spec- 
tacle of rare and striking interest. 

TOMBS OF THE KINGS. 

The Mohammedans, in fact the people of Egypt from time im- 
memorial, have taken extraordinary care of their dead. Five 
thousand years ago they embalmed bodies so that they are pre- 
served unto this day. They encased them in stone sarcophagi sev- 
eral inches thick. They even erected the pyramids which will 
stand to the end of time so that in them the bodies of their dead 
might be forever preserved. We visited the tombs of the Moham- 
medan kings, where are buried the kings of several dynasties. 
Their bodies are enclosed in tombs of beautiful alabaster elab- 
orately embellished with gold and placed in rooms carpeted with 
Brussels carpets and Persian rugs and hung with damask cur- 
tains. There they have been kept for hundreds of years, as if yet 
the tenants of the home. There is none of the coldness or iso- 
lation or repulsiveness of the tomb. The living move in and out 
among them as though their dead were yet tenants of a home. 
The methods of the Egyptians in caring for their dead are in 
striking contrast with the Hindus who burn theirs, or the Parsees 
who give theirs to the vultures, or the Chinese who bury theirs in 
unmarked graves. We must confess that this reverence for the 
dead is a distinguishing characteristic of the Egyptians to be ad- 
mired. 



362 Around the World. 

THE MUSEUM. 

The Orient is noted for its museums. I have heretofore re- 
ferred to those at Batavia in Java, and at Calcutta, and Singa- 
pore. But in some respects the museum in Cairo surpasses them 
all or any other in the world. In it are not only specimens of 
Egyptian architecture most ancient and beautiful, and implements 
of war and industries of all ages, but it contains the actual mum- 
mies of Rameses I and Rameses II, and others of these ancient 
Pharaohs and monarchs, who have occupied such a conspicuous 
place in history. The preservation of their mummies is so perfect 
that even the color of their hair and the contour of their faces 
are retained. The shroud or cloth wrapping one of them looks 
as if it were not five years old, although there is every evidence 
that the mummy has an age of several thousand years. The gran- 
ite sarcophagi or coffins in which they are found are in the shape 
of the human figure, are several inches in thickness and have in- 
scriptions in hieroglyphics upon them which have been deciphered. 
There is no doubt therefore as to their age and identity. They 
look as fresh and perfect as if just made. 

There is shown the mummy of the Pharaoh who oppressed the 
Israelites and it is claimed that his identity is established beyond 
question. It is contended that even the Biblical record, while it 
states that the Egyptians were overwhelmed in the Red Sea, does 
not declare that Pharaoh himself was among the number. 

The heads and features of these ancient potentates indicate men 
of high intellectuality. They are of what is known as the Grecian 
mould, are of clear cut, and refined outlines, and their bodies are 
of great length. They must have been athletic and intellectual. 

In the tombs of these kings were discovered their crowns and 
the jewelry they wore and the adornments of their palaces and 



Sights Seen in Egypt. 363 

"their armour, and the gold and silver plates of their tables. They 
■ are costly, in great quantities and beautiful, and are to be seen in 
the museum near where the mummies repose. 

There are also mummies of fish and sheep and alligators and 
oxen and other sacred animals, which were as carefully embalmed 
and preserved as were the kings. 

Inside the tombs were buried wheat and flowers and barley and 
■other grain and there were deposited with them small hard stones 
cut into the shape of the beetle, a sacred insect, and upon them 
were stamped the dynasty in which they were manufactured. They 
were emblems of immortality and by placing them in the tombs 
with a monarch there was an expression of faith that he would live 
forever. Or it may have been that there was thought to be some 
virtue in the beetle stone which would assure the passage of the 
^oul of the king into eternal life. These beetle stones are called 
scarabs and are highly valued as jewelry. They are well authen- 
ticated and are interesting souvenirs. 

THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. 

The collection of wild animals in the Zoo at Cairo is the finest 
we have seen, unless we except the one at Calcutta. The specimens 
•of lions, tigers and reptiles are very fine^ and there is quite an 
exhibition of deer, porcupine, and birds of various varieties, in 
fact all the fowl and beasts to be found in the tropics. A curious 
animal we do not remember to have seen in any menagerie is the 
w^hite-tailed Gnu, which has a head something like that of a water 
buffalo and a body, including mane and beautiful white tail, like a 
horse. The body is brown. The most interesting specimen we 
saw was a giraffe, whose head is over twelve feet from the ground 
and which could eat off a roof of a house fifteen and possibly 



364 Around the World. 

twenty feet high. He would not have trouble in pulling cocoa- 
nuts off of palm trees or stealing clothes out of second or even 
third story windows. We saw two sights near the Zoo which 
remind us much of America. One was a mule and the other was a 
drunkard. Possibly I have referred to these before. But both are 
so unusual in the East and so usual in America that they left an 
impression. 

THE GOVERNMENT. 

To the credit of Great Britain it can be said that her rule in 
Egypt has been beneficial and uplifting. Some twenty-six years 
ago when Egypt was in practically a bankrupt condition both 
England and France took charge of her finances. The result was. 
that the country passed into a condition of subjection to Great 
Britain. The debt has been to a large extent extinguished, and the 
country appears prosperous. The people are controlling their own 
affairs to a much greater degree than the people of India control 
theirs. In real fact Great Britain has them under her wing. 

I saw the Khedive. He is a nice looking young fellow^ is not 
Egyptian in appearance, but looks more like an American. He 
seems about thirty years of age and appears as if he would enjoy 
a good cigar and a drink. If he were in St. Louis you would 
take him for a son of a milHonaire who liked a horse race and 
took his lunch at the noon-day club and spent his evenings at 
bridge whist. He has a pleasant, harmless face, and Great Britain 
is permitting him to play at royalty much as she does the Mahara- 
jahs in India. There are a few thousand English soldiers in 
Egypt, and a large native army. When the Khedive refuses to. 
take advice or evinces a disposition to do his own thinking the 
British lion shows his teeth just a bit, and the Khedive is soon in. 



Sights Seen in Egypt. 365 

line. Great Britain knows she has a good thing in the possession 
of the valley of the Nile and the many attractions of Egypt. She 
also knows the people will fight. So she is proceeding carefully, 
astutely and with diplomacy, but all the time is strengthening her 
^ip upon things. 

OSTRICH FARM. 

In Heliopolis, the site of the ancient city of On, now part of 
the suburbs of Cairo, is one of the largest ostrich farms in the 
world. There are 1,400 of the huge birds. They had just been 
plucked w'hen we visited the place and presented a naked and des- 
titute appearance. They yield annually $40 worth of feathers 
each. The white and black feathers grow upon the male and the 
grey upon the female. They are long-lived. Some attain to the 
age of sixty years and most of them live to be forty. No other 
birds mate as they do. The devotion of the male to the female 
is beautiful. When she dies he pines away and dies. When he 
dies she does not pine as he does but she never marries again. He 
also helps her in raising the children. He takes turns with her in 
sitting upon the eggs. Each sits upon them three hours. It re- 
quires six weeks to hatch them. The male ostrich is a model 
husband and can give many pointers worthy of imitation by other 
husbands who walk on two feet. They raise a family of ten to 
twelve a year, and the business of selling their feathers is quite 
profitable. 

AN OBELISK AND THE PLAGUES. 

Near the ostrich farm stands an obelisk, the only relic of ancient 
On. It is similar to Cleopatra's needle to be seen in Central 
Park, New York. It is sunk in the s^round, or rather the soil from 



3G6 Around the World. 

the silt of the Nile has been deposited about it to several feet in- 
thickness. But a space has been excavated around it which is 
partly filled with water and is of a blood red color. We were in- 
formed that there is some quality or element in vegetation of cer- 
tain kinds here which dyes water red. Our thoughts recurred to 
the ten plagues in Pharaoh's time. And we wondered if this was. 
not the natural method the Almighty used to color the water. 
All the other plagues exist here yet in various forms. We can 
bear testimony as to the flies which are the most vicious to be 
found anywhere we have been. So strong is their assault and so 
pertinaciously do they stick that people carry brushes of long hair 
with handles to fight them. You may see people in hotel dining» 
rooms, and parlors, and the verandahs and on the streets with 
these weapons of war, perpetually battling with the flies. If they 
were any worse in Pharaoh's time we do not wonder that he let 
the children of Israel go. The mistake he made was in hardening" 
his heart and bringing the flies back. 

THE DRESS OF THE PEOPLE. 

Most of the Arabs and Turks of the higher order dress in the 
ordinary garb of Americans and Europeans. But the laboring 
classes adhere to the kimono or skirt and red fez or turban. All 
classes wear the red fez, the most graceful headgear for men we 
have seen. The women are not seen often^ and those that are 
upon the streets wear long black shawls which envelop their entire 
bodies, while their faces are concealed from view by a black, or 
colored or white veil. Only women of bad character, or of for- 
eign birth appear upon the streets without these veils, which are 
worn not only by Mohammedan, but by women of all nationalities 
except European and American. 



Sights Seen in Egypt. 367 

DONKEYS AND CAMELS. 

The donkey is in universal use. It is surprising how rapidly 
they can travel and the weights they can carry. They have 
pacing and racking gaits which are very smooth and they go like 
a house afire. To see big men whose feet nearly touch the ground, 
speeding through the streets upon the hind quarters of these little 
creatures is a very funny sight. Mr. Bryan is correct in his de- 
fense of the donkey. No other one animal serves so faithfully so 
many people, especially poor people. No animal serves so few as 
does the elephant, and these few are the rich. The Democrats can 
afford to let the Republicans adopt the elephant while they stick to 
the donkey. 

The great burden bearer of the East is the camel. He is a solemn, 
plodding, lugubrious individual. He never smiles. He is slow, 
but sure. In Egypt and Palestine he is in universal use. He sells 
for about the same price as the American horse, from $40 to $200^ 
according to quality. It is surprising the weights he can carry and 
the fatigue and heat and thirst and starvation he can endure. As 
a riding animal he is better than the elephant. We tried both 
and can speak from experience. He has an easy swinging gait 
that is pleasant. 

RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS. 

The only missionary work being done by any Protestant denom- 
ination is that by the American mission. It is chiefly Presbyterian 
and was established in i860. It has now dj organized congrega- 
tions and 200 mission stations. There are twenty ordained mis- 
sionaries at work, and seventy other mission helpers. There are 
9,349 members of the various churches and a Protestant com- 
munity estimated at 30,000, or one in every 300 of the population. 



368 Around the World. 

There are 12,364 in Sabbath schools. The mission has in opera- 
tion 179 day and boarding schools with a total attendance of peo- 
ple of about 16,000. It is also doing a fine medical work in the es- 
tablishment of hospitals, and is distributing many Bibles and re- 
ligious books among the people. 

A trip up the Nile and a visit to the site of the ancient Thebes 
and the many other interesting points along the river w^e were com- 
pelled to deny ourselves on account of the heat and the plague. 
We hope to have this pleasure another day. I feel sure that no 
country on the earth is more interesting and instructive than this 
one which in its magnificent memorials bears testimony to have 
been the seat of a civilization which not only antedated those of 
Greece and Rome, but in many respects surpassed them. 



PALESTINE. 



24 



XLVL 

PALESTINE. 

The proper appreciation of any country is largely a matter of 
mental attitude, is determined by the condition of mind and heart 
one carries into it. Of all countries this is most true of Pales- 
tine. Concerning it opinions are diverse, for they are often col- 
ored by the religious or non-religious views of the visitor. There 
is a danger of error upon both sides. If one be a non-believer m 
Christianity or even a believer, and ignorant of the Bible the coun- 
try is apt to be disappointing both from a scenic and an utilitarian 
standpoint. If he be a fervent believer there is a tendency to ex- 
aggeration of its attractive features. If in addition he possesses 
a fluent or imaginative pen he can scarcely restrain drifting into 
poetic description or investing what he sees with a glamour of 
fancy which will not be sustained by practical examination. Then 
there are other credulous religionists who accept every tradition or 
fable which superstition or fancy has invented as to the various 
sites, many of which thousands of deluded and devout pilgrims 
actually bow down to and almost idolatrously worship. 

In what I shall write concerning the land, properly designated 
"holy," I shall endeavor to steer clear of these extremes and in 
plain language to state the impressions the country has made. In 
doing so there shall be before me a realization of the solemn fact 
that it was the birth place of Christianity and the scene of most 
of those wondrous events recorded in a Book I believe to be di- 
vine. Here I believe lived and died most of the long line of 
prophets who were inspired of God. Here were enacted through 
the centuries the scenes which foreshadowed and led to the coming 
of Him who came from Heaven to die for the sins of men. Here 

(371) 



372 Around the World. 

He spent His life and rendered forever hallowed so many places 
by His teachings and miracles. Here He died and arose from 
the dead and ascended to Heaven. One who believes all of this 
can but be stirred by a reverential and burning enthusiasm as he 
moves through a land so filled with sacred associations. But this 
will not deter from a sane observation of the country and a plain 
and truthful presentation of the impression it makes. 

THE COUNTRY. 

I will not consume space with any extended historical or geo- 
graphical outline of Palestine. This is familiar to every student 
of the Bible. The most remarkable fact about the country is that 
in such small compass it should embody so much of climate and 
scenery and such a variety of productiveness. From Dan to Beer- 
sheba is not over 200 miles, and from Jaffa to Jericho not sixty. 
It has an area of less than twelve thousand square miles, not one- 
fifth of that of the State of Missouri. And yet within this limited 
space are eternal snows and unending summer, the torrid and al- 
most the frigid zone. There is every variety of scenery from the 
majestic Lebanon mountains on the north to the more modest 
promontories of Benjamin and Judea on the south. There are 
frowning precipices and gentle valleys^ bleak mountains of rock 
and smiling fields of waving wheat and barley and orchards of 
orange and pomegranate and lemon and apricot. The wonderful 
clearness of the atmosphere brings great distances within the 
range of vision. The Dead Sea, although twenty miles away, 
looks from the Mount of Olives as though it were not distant two 
leagues. The western border is lined by the broad and beautiful 
valley of Sharon and the north is intersected by the valley of 
Esdraelon, both opulent and fertile. But most of the country is 



Palestine. 373 

broken, the mountains ranging from two hundred to a thousand 
feet. Upon many of these mountains are terraces upon which 
grapes or other fruit is being grown. There are also many upon 
whose sides are wrecks of walls indicating that at one time inXno. 
past they were terraced orchards or vineyards. It is easy to be- 
lieve that four thousand years ago when the Israelites entered or 
two thousand years later it was a most attractive and fertile land, 
loaded with vegetation and fruits and grain and luminous with 
flowers. Nowhere have we seen as beautiful or as great variety 
of wild flowers. The Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea are beau- 
tiful sheets of water and the river Jordan is a much prettier stream 
that I had imagined. 

JAFFA. 

But I find I can convey a more intelligent idea of the country 
by a description of my entrance to and journey about it. We 
came from Port Said, Egypt, in a much crowded and stuffy little 
Russian steamer. We were unable to secure satisfactory berths 
and had to pay the captain an unreasonable sum for the use of 
his room for our party for the one night's trip over. We sighted 
Jaffa, the ancient Joppa, about eight o'clock in the morning and 
anchored a mile or two from the shore an hour or two later. The 
port is famous as being difficult and perilous to enter. Ships do 
not attempt to cast anchor there in any but quiet weather. Even 
then the waves beat tempestuously against the rocks. Passengers 
are conveyed upon skiffs or launches from the ship between huge 
rocks, through which the sea dashes constantly like the rapids of a 
Niagara. Dexterous engineering is necessary to. pass the place 
safely. But we did so. Jaffa is a city of several thousand inhab- 
itants located upon an eminence overlooking the sea, and ancient 



374 Around the World. 

in appearance. Its houses are of stone with flat roofs and look old 
enough to have been there from the beginning of time. It has 
several good hotels. The first thing to attract our attention was 
the remarkable productiveness of the country. Nowhere, not even 
in Java or Southern California or anywhere in America have we 
seen such a variety of fruits. The oranges are the finest in the 
world, not excepting those in California and Florida. Besides, 
there are lemons equally as large. Riding about the city we were 
shown flourishing orchards of pomegranates, dates, almonds, ap- 
ricots, mulberries, pears, apples and peaches. We know of no 
other place where oranges and apples and peaches are grown suc- 
cessfully in the same soil. Vegetables are equally as abundant. 
Radishes, peas, tomatoes, beans, cauliflower, potatoes, grow lux- 
uriantly. Of grain there are barley, wheat and even Indian corn. 
Cotton also is produced in great quantities. Surely we thought 
we had come to the land flowing with milk and honey. On all 
sides as far as the eye can reach and for hundreds of miles farther 
stretches along the Mediterranean, the beautiful valley of Sharon, 
presenting a spectacle of opulence scarcely surpassed by the valley 
of the Nile. It is even better than the latter, because it is watered 
by rains and not by irrigation. This valley extends all along the 
western shore of the country and in ancient days was occupied by 
the Philistines and the Phoenicians. 

THE PEOPLE. 

We had not gotten off the steamer before we were given evi- 
dence that we were among a very different people from the cring- 
ing and servile creatures we had seen elsewhere in the Orient, 
Egypt excepted. The rival representatives of tourist agencies, 
some twenty or thirty, engaged in a rough and tumble fight that 



Palestine. 375 

was terrible to behold. It looked as though there were to be sev- 
eral homicides within a minute, but the storm was quieted without 
bloodshed. Upon reaching the shore we found the people brighter 
and more spirited than any we had seen. They were Turks, 
Arabs, and Jews, chiefly. The population seemed thrifty, were not 
half dressed as elsewhere and there were not many beggars, 

SCRIPTURAL SITES. 

Two places in Jaffa are pointed out as recalling events recorded 
in the Bible. One is the alleged tomb of Dorcas, whom Peter 
raised from the dead. It is situated upon a hill overlooking the 
town, and near to a handsome church erected by the Russian 
Catholics in commemoration of this gentle character whose name 
has been a synonym of self-sacrifice and an inspiration to feminine 
service the centuries since. Whether this be Dorcas' tomb or not 
it is a fact that is recorded that in this town Peter raised Dorcas 
from the dead. 

A better authenticated sight, but not wholly trustworthy, is 
the house of Simon, the tanner, from whose roof Peter saw the 
vision of the four footed beasts, regarded by the Jews as unclean, 
and whence he heard the voice ''rise, Peter, slay and eat." Hence- 
forward he understood the command to be to preach the gospel 
to the Gentiles. The next day he received the messages from 
Cornelius the Roman Centurion, who lived at Cesarea twenty 
miles north. There he went and in the centurion's house made 
the first proclamation that the gospel was for all men. The house 
is on the seashore and is occupied as a Mohammedan mosque. But 
the view of the ocean from the roof where Peter is supposed to 
have been praying when he saw the vision is a striking one. The 
waters of the sea are near at hand, are blue and beautiful, and it 



376 Around the World. 

is easy to imagine a vision above them. The building is of stone 
with a concrete roof, and is shadowed by a fig tree. A stone reser- 
voir is shown to indicate its use as a tannery. 

THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 

It is fifty-four miles from Jafifa to Jerusalem by railway and 
forty-two miles over a very fine macadamized road by carriage. 
As we were anxious to reach Jerusalem to be present at the Greek 
Easter, which was to be the next day, April 25, we went by rail. 
The accommodations were good, the train was crowded and the 
roadbed smooth. There were on the train besides our party, a 
number of tourists, among whom were Dr. Cortland Myers and 
family, of New York, Rev. W. S. Leak, of Virginia^ Rev. Mr. 
Wicker, of New Jersey, a large number of Russian pilgrims and 
natives. The weather was ideal. The first portion of the trip lay 
through the beautiful Valley of Sharon. A more attractive spec- 
tacle than the limitless fields of green wheat and barley with the 
Mediterranean for a background upon the west, and the mountains 
of Judah upon the east, could not well be imagined. Our first 
station was near ancient Lydda where Peter performed the miracle 
of healing the man Aeneas, who was afflicted with the palsy. It 
is an humble little village of stone houses. Thenceforward our 
way was through the mountains, not lofty ones as are the Rockies 
or the Alleghenies, but what would be denominated foothills in 
America. Many are terraced, stone walls supporting the terrace 
from base to summit. We passed a place which is pointed out as 
the abode of Samson and the train pursues its way through im- 
mense fields whose parched grass could easily have been set on fire 
by the burning tails of foxes as Samson^ we are told, did. Upon 
our right we are shown the site of Bethshemesh, where the ark 



Palestine. 377 

of the covenant first rested when it was brought back by the oxen 
from the Phihstines. At this Bethshemesh it will be remembered 
Jehovah smote dead over fifty thousand of the people who dared to 
look into the ark. Samson's cave may also be seen in a neighbor- 
ing clifif. 

The train also runs not far from the spot where David slew Go- 
liath. This point is in dispute, but the place, a brook or wady well 
supplied with smooth stones, seems not an unnatural one for it. 

Down these dark defiles and across these beautiful plains the 
Israelites and Philistines swept in repeated battles, and there is 
no doubt but that Joshua, soon after his entrance to the Land of 
Promise, led his conquering hosts across the pathway upon which 
our railroad lies. The very spot where he beheaded the five kings 
is pointed out. 

The trip from Jaffa to Jerusalem consumed several hours. It 
was full of interest. One historic point followed so closely upon 
another that we could scarcely take them in. Just as we were en- 
deavoring to collect together in our minds all that we had seen and 
heard upon the journey so that we would not forget them "Jeru- 
salem" was called, and the domes and minarets and walls of the 
Holy City hove in view. 



XLVIL 

JERUSALEM. 

Jerusalem, Palestine^ May 12, 1908. 
"Beautiful for situation" is the well-merited exclamation of the 
Psalmist concerning the Holy City. We know of no city which 
is more eligibly or attractively located with reference to the coun- 
try of which it is the capital and metropolis and which in time 
of war is a more ideal fortress of defense. It is at the geo- 
graphical center. It is over 2,700 feet above the sea level, on near- 
ly the highest point in Palestine, except the mountains of Lebanon, 
It is visible for many miles. If properly garrisoned it is prac- 
tically impregnable upon all sides except the northern and north- 
western. The valley of Jehoshaphat upon the east, of Hinnon 
upon the south and of Gihon upon the west are deep 
gorges up whose nearly perpendicular steeps it would be very 
difficult for any attacking force to ascend. David and his great 
lieutenant, Joab, alone accomplished this feat, and they did it by 
means of a subterranean gutter. Titus, the Crusaders, the Sarac- 
ens and all who have captured it reached it from the north. I 
have viewed it at distances of many miles from ever}^ direction 
and it is ever majestic, towering and imposing. 

WALLS, gates and STREETS. 

The city sits upon four hills, Zion on the southwest, Akra on 
the northwest, Bezetha on the northeast and Moriah, where the 
temple was located, upon the southeast. The Tyropeon valley 
runs north and south through the city. In the days of David 
and Solomon this valley was spanned by a bridge which extended 
from Mount Zion to Mount Moriah, or from the palace to the 

(378) 



Jerusalem. 379 

Temple. Through successive destructions of the city the valley- 
has been filled up, until part of the area it covered is nearly upon 
a level with the hills. The city is surrounded by a strong stone 
wall about fifteen feet high and two and a half miles in circum- 
ference. In some places the debris upon the side has piled up 
•almost to the top of the wall. There are eight gates, the Jafifa 
upon the west, the New and Damascus on the north, Herod's and 
•St. Stephen's upon the east, and the Dung and Zion gates on the 
south. The most important is the Jaffa gate. It is at the termi- 
nus of the road from Jaffa and about it outside and inside the walls 
there are the hotels and foreign business quarters and an ever 
surging crowd. 

The city is bisected by David street which is an extension of the 
Jaffa road and runs entirely through the city from the Jaffa gate 
to the Temple Area or Mosque of Omar. It is a dark street about 
twelve feet wide and lined with little bazars or shops. It is paved 
with stones and as it descends into the Tyropeon valley becomes 
a sort of stairway. Most of the distance it is covered overhead 
with stone arches built during the Crusades. Upon the north 
side of the street is the Mohammedan and upon the south side 
the Jewish quarters. Little narrow, dark streets branch off north 
and south from David street, and are also lined with bazars or 
shops and lead to the dwelling places of the people. The latter 
are narrow and contracted, and have none of the characteristics 
■of Christian homes as to amplitude and modern conveniences. 

CLEANLINESS, CONVENIENCES, PEOPLE, ETC. 

While the city inside the walls is much crowded and the streets 
are narrow it is not as uncleanly as similarly built cities in either 
Japan or China. There are no water works, no sewerage and no 



380 Around the World. 

gas or electric light. Of course there are no tramways or street 
cars inside or out. AVheel vehicles are not permitted inside the 
walls, for the reason that the streets are not wide enough to ad- 
mit them, and if horses are taken in they have to be led through. 
The crowds, while they fill the streets to uncomfortable degree^ 
are not as noisy as in China, nor are there the smells and offen- 
sive sights of the Chinese or Japanese city. The people are a 
mixture chiefly of Jews and Syrians, with a sprinkling of Arabs, 
Bedouins and Turks, and people of all nationalities. They are 
law-abiding and not discourteous to strangers. While there are 
some beggars outside the gates they are not to be compared in 
number or obtrusiveness with those in India. The city is finely 
provided with hospitals, leper, blind, surgical. The English, Ger- 
man, French, Jew and other nationalities besides several church 
organizations have excellent hospitals^ in fine buildings, with 
skilled physicians in charge. 

POPULATION, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND CHURCHES'. 

The present population is estimated at about 80,000, of whom 
47,000 are Jews, 15,000 are Mohammedans and 15,000 Christians. 
There is a steady increase in the Jewish population^ it being fifty 
per cent greater now than it was a quarter of a century ago. 
While the government is in the hands of the Turks they form but 
a small proportion of the population. There are English, German,. 
French, Italian, and Mohammedan schools^ and several Mission 
schools, under the supervision of the Church Missionary, and the 
London Mission Society. Of churches there is scarcely any limit. 
The Greek, Roman Catholic, the Armenian, the Greek orthodox, 
the Armenian orthodox, Syriac, Copts, Jews, Abyssinian, Syriac,. 
Protestants, all have organizations. The Catholics have large 



Jerusalem. 381 

monasteries, and hospices which are sustained by the many thou- 
sands of pilgrims who flock here every year. There were here fully 
twenty thousand Russian pilgrims when we arrived. They were 
attending the Greek Easter. The pilgrims of all the organizations 
are coming and going continually. They are a devout and 
ignorant people, and walk hundreds of miles to reach the city. 
They are the chief source of revenue to the local population. 

OUTSIDE THE WALLS. 

Outside the walls the scene is different from that inside. There 
is a larger population than upon the inside. There are several 
fine hotels, churches, hospitals and schools, many business estab- 
lishments, broad streets and a general aspect of progress. All the 
buildings are of stone with red tiled roofs, stone and tiling being 
cheaper than wood. But they are lacking in modern conveniences, 
candles being used for illumination, and there is no sewerage, 
water works or gas. In all Jerusalem there is not a newspaper 
printed, and the mails are irregular. News from the outside 
world is so inaccessible and infrequent that the people lose inter- 
est in it and but few read newspapers at all. There are many 
cultivated people of foreign birth. Jerusalem is an illustration of 
how it is possible for an educated community to exist in this twen- 
tieth century without newspapers. Those who have tried it say it 
works well, that they are not worried by the news gossip, the 
trash, the crime and bitterness and strife which find vent and 
■outlet through the columns of newspapers and that the time they 
would waste upon these things they devote to better advantage to 
higher reading and more profitable occupation. At any rate they 
appear to be getting along fairly well. 



382 Around the World. 

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 

The chief interest in Jerusalem consists in it having been the 
focal point wherein took place the most important events in the 
history of Christianity. Some of the places where occurred much 
of which the Bible tells can be identified beyond question. The 
city itself, the Mount of Olives, the brooks and valleys and country 
here about are all as they were thousands of years ago. As to 
whether there is any reliability to be attached to many of the 
places pointed out as the scenes of Bible interest and record is a 
matter of doubt. Among these is the alleged site of Calvary and 
the sepulchre commemorated by the church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre. It is a large and handsome building located in the north- 
western part of the city. It is said that Queen Helene^ mother of 
the Emperor Constantine the Great, came here in the third century 
after the city had been destroyed and there was revealed to her 
in a dream the site of our Lord's crucifixion and burial. It is also 
claimed that upon excavating at the spot there was discovered the 
cross upon which the Savior was crucified. The cross, it is said,, 
was placed under a paralyzed woman and she was restored. Upon 
such a tradition the church was built. Millions of ignorant crea- 
tures visit if constantly and bow down and kiss with almost 
idolatrous passion the various alleged scenes of the Savior's suf- 
fering, death, burial, and resurrection. The site of the cross is 
pointed out, of the slab upon which His body was laid, of the tomb 
in which He was buried. The grave and the skull of Adam, the 
alleged center of the world, the place where the cross was exhumed 
and where the Queen watched the work of exhumation are all 
shown. People are to be seen constantly kissing and mumbling 
prayers over them. The reputed scenes of our Lord's sacrifice 



Jerusalem. 383 

and resurrection are worshipped with a superstition similar to that 
of the followers of Buddha. 

THE GREEK EASTER. 

We hastened our trip to Jerusalem to be present at the celebra- 
tion of Easter by the Greek Orthodox church. It took place on 
Sunday, April 25, a week later than the Latin Easter. We saw 
it under favorable conditions. Our party was among the few ad- 
mitted to the robing room of the Greek Patriarch as he donned 
his robe and there was placed upon his head his crown for the 
greatest annual event of his church. Both crown and robe glitter- 
ed with precious gems and were composed of the most costly ma- 
terial. His robe was of brocaded white satin covered with gold em- 
broidery. His deep gauntlets were studded with precious jewels. 
He wore an emerald cross said to have cost $10,000 and his jew- 
eled crown was reputed to represent an expenditure of a half mil- 
lion of dollars. This brilliant garb fittingly corresponded to the 
church itself, which is hung with costly paintings, adorned with 
brilliant chandeliers, and its walls and ceilings are decorated in a 
most elaborate manner. We were permitted to follow closely after 
the procession led by the Patriarch as he and his long line of hat- 
ted and gowned assistant priests, each carrying a lighted candle, 
moved down into church. A battalion of soldiers guarded the 
procession. There came near being war between them and the 
female members of our party as they tried to keep us back. But 
a courteous officer admitted us and we had opportunity of wit- 
nessing at close range the celebration of the Greek Easter as con- 
ducted by the Patriarch. He went through with quite a long 
ritual, none of which we understood^ sprinkled incense over the 
people and was continuing with the ceremony when the intense 



384 Around the World. 

heat compelled us to leave. The crowd was something tremend- 
ous. Three sects of Christians, the Roman Catholics, the Arme- 
nians, and the Greeks claim right to worship in this church of the 
Holy Sepulchre. The constant presence of Mohammedan soldiers 
is necessary to preserve peace between them. There was some- 
thing revolting in the fact that the alleged scene of the suffering 
and death of the Prince of Peace should have to be guarded by 
soldiers with guns to keep peace between those who claim to be 
His followers. It is said that but for the presence of the soldiers 
there would be^ has been repeatedly, bloodshed between the rival 
sects. It is distressing to every believer in the Christ to witness 
such fanaticism, ignorance, superstition and even idolatry upon 
the spot where He is thought by some to have died and risen from 
the dead. 

THE REAL SITE OF CALVARY. 

Most Protestant Christians do not believe that the church of 
the Holy Sepulchre is the real site of the Lord's crucifixion and 
burial. They fix it at an elevated knoll and an adjoining garden 
just north of the city. The knoll is now a Mohammedan ceme- 
tery and in shape it resembles a human skull. There are large 
cavities in the side of the hill beneath the surface which are not 
unlike eyes. The place was first selected by Gen. Chinese Gor- 
don and the longer the subject has been studied the more unpre- 
judiced persons have drifted to the conclusion that it must be the 
original site. The tomb near by answers every description of the 
new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The ground adjoining it was 
bought by English Christians for two thousand pounds, has been 
planted in flowers and is carefully superintended. The Moham- 
medans refuse to sell the cemetery at any price. It belongs to the 




CORDON'S CALVARY—Spot Where Most of the Christian World Think Christ icas 

Crucified — The Elevated Portion is the Supposed Site of the Crucifixion 

and the Loiuer Ground in Front the Tomb in Which the 

Body of the Savior Was Laid 



Jerusalem. 385 

government. They are at least preserving it from occupation for 
commercial purposes. The site is on the Damascus road^ outside 
the walls and occupies a commanding position and is visible from 
the Mount of Olives and from many points about the city. It is 
known that the crucifixion took place outside the walls. It seems 
practically impossible that the present Church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre should occupy a place which then was outside the city. The 
Gordon site fills every condition of the Bible description and is 
the Calvary of the Christian imagination in its elevated position, 
its proximity to a garden, its shape and its relation to the city. An 
interesting and significant fact is that the rocky strata beneath it 
has been rent and displaced as if by an earthquake. 

Many scholars doubt the authenticity of this site. They claim 
that there is no satisfactory evidence to verify it. 



25 



XLVIII. 
MOUNT OF OLIVES AND TEMPLE AREA. 

Jerusalem^ Palestine, May 15, 1908. 
The two spots in Jerusalem of chief interest are the Mount of 
Olives and the Temple Area. About their identity there can be 
no question. While the buildings and other structures upon them 
have changed with the successive mutations which have befallen 
the city, the ground itself is there in the same form as it was 
before Jerusalem was a city. They are opposite to each other. 
They are separated by the valley of Jehoshaphat through which 
runs the Brook Kedron, making the height from the top of the 
city wall in front of the Temple Area so great as to justify Jo- 
sephus' description that one almost grows dizzy looking down into 
it. They are on the east side of the city. The intervening space be- 
tween them on each side of the Brook is covered with tombs and 
gardens. Among the latter is the Garden of Gethsemane, which 
may or may not be the spot where the Savior endured the agony 
and the bloody sweat and where He was betrayed and delivered 
into the custody of the Roman soldiers. A Russian church build- 
ing with gilded minarets stands near by and this section as well 
as the side of the Mount is a network of stone walls, either lining 
the streets or enclosing cemeteries or gardens or buildings. 

TPIE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 

The view from the Mount of Olives is one of the most interest- 
ing anywhere in the world. On the west almost all of the city of 
Jerusalem is in plain view. The sight is an imposing and impress- 
ive one. Its Mohammedan character is revealed in the numerous 
mosque domes to be seen, especially in the gigantic dome of the 

(386) 



Mount of Olives and Temple Area. 387 

Rock or Mosque of Omar, which stands upon the Temple Area 
in front. To the north the Gordon site of Calvary and to 
the south the Valley of Hinnon and the House of Evil 
Counsel, and the Mountain of Offense are in plain view. It 
is a striking panorama, and is the one which called forth from 
Jesus His lament : "O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the 
prophets and stonest them that are sent to thee ; How often would 
I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and ye would not." The heathenism 
and perverseness of the city are nearly as pitiable now as then. 

To the south may 'be seen the wilderness of Judea, a mass of un- 
tenanted hills where John the Baptist preached the gospel of re- 
pentance and proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. To the 
north lies Mount Scopus^ from which there is even a finer view, 
and beyond is the Gibeah of Saul. 

But the most striking scene of all is that to the eastward. 
Across ranges of desolate cliffs and at seemingly a short distance 
but really twenty miles off — lies the Dead Sea, four thousand 
feet below, quiet, still and clear, while beyond loom up the moun- 
tains of Moab, Nebo the highest of them all. The extraordinary 
clearness of the atmosphere makes the scene a vivid one. Even 
the river Jordan, over twenty miles away may be easily descried 
as it pursues its serpentine course into the Dead Sea, 

Upon the summit of the mount is a Russian church called "the 
church of the Ascension," and a very tall minaret, from the top of 
which may be had a magnificent view of most of Palestine_, and 
which upon a clear day may be seen many miles distant. This is 
the spot according to the Christian view whence Christ ascended to 
Heaven. Like every other, it has also been made a place for the 
vaunting of fanatical superstition. The stone from which He is 



388 Around the World. 

said to have made His ascent, with an impression of His foot upon 
it, is shown. Pilgrims reverently kiss it, as they do many places 
on the Mount. There is also a Roman Catholic Cathedral which 
is also claimed to have been the spot from which our Lord ascend- 
ed. Both show stones which they claim have impress of His foot 
as He left the earth. 

BETHANY AND BETH PAGE. 

To the southeast of the Mount of Olives and within easy view of 
it is the village of Bethany, where Jesus raised Lazarus from the 
dead, where resided Mary and Martha, and where was the house 
of Simon, the Leper, in which Mary anointed His feet with oil 
and bathed them with the hairs of her head. It is a miserable lit- 
tle Bedouin village of probably a hundred inhabitants, whose rag- 
ged children worry the visitor for "backsheesh." The alleged 
grave of Lazarus, upon a side street, is pointed out. It is thirty- 
five feet below the surface and is reached by several successive 
flights of steps. The sepulchre itself is nine by eight feet and 
about six feet high, and is cut in the solid rock. A short distance 
away is said to have been the home of Mary and Martha and Laz- 
arus. Only part of the lower story remains. But the handsome 
marble carvings upon the walls would indicate, it to have been the 
abode of a family of wealth. Across the street are the ruins of 
what was once a handsome dwelling said to have been that of 
Simon the Leper. The houses and locations seem reasonable, but 
there is no reliable evidence that they are what they are claimed to 
be. There is also a Catholic church in Bethany in which is 
shown a stone on which it is claimed the Savior sat. 

At the eastern boundary of the village upon the Jericho road 
is pointed out the spot where Martha met Jesus and said to 



Mount of Olives and Temple Area. 389 

Him: "Lord, if thou hadst been here our brother had not died," 
and where He said to her, "I am the resurrection and the Hfe; 
he that beheveth in me though he were dead yet shall he live." 
About a fourth of a mile northwest of Bethany is Bethpage, 
where by direction of the Savior the disciple found the ass' colt 
upon which He rode into the city upon His triumphal entry when 
the multitude sang hosannas and laid palm branches upon the road 
for Him to ride over. 

I rode across to Bethpage and three times have ridden over the 
road from Bethany to the city upon which He made His triumphal 
entry. It is about two miles in length and it is a smooth, broad 
highway. The bend in it around the Mount of Olives at the point 
where the full view of the city first burst upon Him and where He 
wept over it is there now just as then. As the sun went down we 
lingered upon the spot and not only was the scene itself thrilling 
but far more so the memory of the great event that transpired 
there on that Palm Sunday, 1900 years ago. 

THE TEMPLE AREA. 

On the eastern border of the city, directly across the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat from the Mount of Olives, the city wall being its east- 
ern boundary, lies the most interesting spot on the earth. It is 
Mount Moriah. Upon it Abraham is believed to have offered 
up Isaac. It is known to have been iVraunah's Threshing Floor, 
purchased by David as a resting place for the Ark of the Coven- 
ant. Here he had hoped to erect a temple. But God would not 
permit him because he had been a man of war. He only collected 
the material therefor.. The glory and honor were reserved for his 
son, Solomon, who erected here without sound of hammer the 
greatest edifice of the ages. It was torn down by Nebuchadnezzar, 



S90 Around the World. 

rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and afterwards enlarged to proportions 
even greater than that of Solomon by Herod. It was Herod's 
Temple that was standing when the Savior was on the earth. It 
was destroyed by Titus in 71 A. D., and after being the site of 
various structures, was at last occupied by the Mohammedans 
as a beautiful mosque. 

ITS SIZE, TOWER OF ANTONIA AND ECCE HOMO. 

The Area embraces thirty-two acres, the space it did in the 
time of Christ, and is laid with a stone pavement. Upon the 
northwest corner is a soldiers' barracks, formerly the castle An- 
tonia, and near the Pretorium in which Jesus appeared before 
Pilate. Near by and just outside the wall of the Temple Area 
stands a Catholic church and orphanage called ''The Ecce Homo," 
this being in all probability the spot where Jesus stood scourged 
and bleeding with the crown of thorns upon his head when 
Pilate uttered that famous expression and in the presence of the 
multitude washed his hands in fancied but futile innocence of His 
blood. In the basement of the Ecce Homo building may be seen 
the stone pavement on which Jesus stood, and across which He 
bore the cruel cross. In the southwestern part of the Temple 
Area is a building which occupies the spot where the Sanhedrim 
sat when Jesus was tried. 

THE DOME OF THE ROCK. 

In the center of the Area is the main building surrounding the 
Dome of the Rock. It is 174 feet in diameter by 98 feet in height, 
is constructed of marble and porcelain and inlaid in the interior 
with exquisite mosaic. The windows are remarkably beautiful 
and of rich colored Sflass, which admits a soft and mellow lieht. 



Mount of Olives and Temple Area. 391 

The building is surmounted by a handsome oval dome of dark 
color and consists of one room, the roof of which is supported by 
two rows of eight columns each. These columns are of marble 
and are all different in carving and design. Inscriptions in Per- 
sian from the Koran adorn the frieze. In the center of the 
room enclosed in a handsome screen is a rock 58 feet long by 44 
feet wide which rises six feet above the surrounding pavement 
which is a beautiful mosaic. Upon this stone Abraham is sup- 
posed to have offered up Isaac. It was also probably the stone 
which stood in front of the temple upon which the sacrificial offer- 
ings were made. The Mohammedans have a fabulous tradition 
that from it Mahomet went to Heaven to get the Koran. They 
show the print of his foot on the rock when he left it, and also a 
cleft of which the angel Gabriel caught hold to prevent the rock 
from following him. Thus heathen superstition touches the most 
sacred spots. 

In the basement are shown alcoves where David and Elijah and 
Abraham and Moses and Solomon are said to have prayed. The 
floor has a hollow sound as though there was a cavern beneath it. 
But no one has been permitted to explore it. If so important dis- 
coveries might be made. 

ANCIENT TEMPLES AND COURTS. 

The area is not level, but ascends by successive gradations from 
the eastern border. The ancient courts of the Gentiles, the 
women, and Israel, and the Priests and the location of the brazen 
laver and of the temple itself can easily be fixed. The outer court 
was occupied by the money-changers and tradesmen whom the 
Savior drove out upon His triumphal entry and also at the be- 
ginning of His ministry. These same classes may be found 



392 Around the World. 

today at the entrances to the church of the Holy Sepulchre and at 
all the heathen temples in the east. Money changing is and was 
as legitimate a business as selling doves or animals for the sac- 
rifices, for it is necessary in countries where so many different 
kinds of coin are used. But the Savior meant to teach these people 
and the world that His house was not to be made one of merchan- 
dise. 

From these courts Solomon ran pipes to three large 
pools which he built nine miles south of the city and which are yet 
in use. From these water ran by gravity through an aqueduct 
twenty-eight miles long and was used in the sacrifices and for the 
people to drink. It is still carried to the city from the same pools, 
but in iron pipes. Just southwest of the Temple Area in a deep 
valley about a half mile away lay then and still lies the pool of 
Siloam, whence water was brought to the temple to be used in 
worship. Some modern scholars locate here Mt. Zion and the city 
of David instead of upon the southwest or traditional site, 

Solomon's stables and quarries. 

Below the Temple Area are Solomon's stables, a large space 
supported by stone pillars in which he kept his horses. He must 
have had an enormous collection. But more curious than the 
stables are the mammoth quarries from which the stone for the 
building was taken. They are entered from near the Damascus 
gate in the northern part of the city and extend for a thousand feet 
or more until they reach a point under the Temple Area. The 
stone is soft and white, but hardens upon exposure to the air. The 
marks of the chisel are still plainly visible upon the rocks, which 
were hewn into the proper shape in the quarry and placed in the 
building without the use of hammer or chisel. 



Mount of Olives and Temple Area. 393 

ENTRANCE TO TEMPLE. 

There is but one entrance to the Temple Area through the city 
wall from the east. That is through the Golden Gate, which has 
long been closed. Christians believe it will not be opened until 
Christ enters it at His second advent. Mohammedans say it shall 
not be opened until Mahomet comes. Hence they keep it closed. 
Both in the preservation of Calvary and the Temple Area and 
many other sites sacred to Christians the Mohammedans are un- 
consciously, but by a seeming overruling Providence, protecting 
from desecration places forever hallowed to those who believe in 
the God and Christ of the Bible. 



XLIX. 

SCENES IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM. 

Jerusalem, May i8, 1908. 
Few places in the world contain crowds so curious and cosmo- 
politan as those which gather daily outside and inside the Jaffa 
Gate. This is the focal point of all Jerusalem. It is the business 
center and the local forum. Turbanned Arabs and Turks, with 
long kimonos, bearded Jews with broad hats and flowing gowns, 
smart Syrians attired in European garb excepting the red fez upon 
their heads, Armenian, Greek, Roman and divers other priests and 
monks in flowing black robes, some with high, others with broad 
hats, all with long hair and beard and looking as we imagine the 
chief priests and scribes must have appeared in the days of the 
Savior, Europeans of all nationalities, and last but not least the 
ubiquitous Americans mingle promiscuously in this heterogeneous, 
bustling, motley throng. Hucksters and beggars and fakirs, blind 
and lame and decrepit, all classes and conditions are represented. 
The domestic animals are nearly as varied. Horses and mules, 
donkeys and camels and oxen, some hitched to carriages, others 
to carts, many ridden and all brutally lashed amid the yells and 
screams of their drivers add to the din and confusion and turmoil 
of the scene. What makes it all more exciting is that everybody 
talks at the top of his voice, as if every one else were deaf. The 
world is well represented at Jerusalem in people, in religions, in 
fads and conditions of life. There is but little social life. There 
are no places of amusement, no libraries, no parks^ no means of 
recreation except lawn tennis. It is a place of donkeys and 
camels and small shops and churches. A lady objected to living 
here because she said she was never out of hearing of a donkey 

(394) 



Mount of Olives and Temple Area. 395 

l)ray or a church bell. The most prosperous people are the monks, 
who take in vast sums of money from the many thousands of 
pilgrims who come here annually. Monasteries and hospices are 
to be found everywhere. There are outside the walls many de- 
lightful and cultivated people and numerous hospitable homes of 
Europeans and Americans. Many of the shop keepers are of the 
Jatter nationalities. 

AROUND THE WALLS. 

I have ridden several times around the walls, a distance of two 
■and a half miles. Starting at the Jaffa Gate and going north the 
-first place of interest is the Gordon site of Calvary, which 1 have 
already described. Under it is the grotto of Jeremiah and the 
miry pit in which he was thrown. Near this are the tombs of the 
kings and the baths of Solomon, all cut in solid rock. On the east 
we pass the Garden of Gethsemane and opposite the southeast 
•corner the pillar of Absalom, the pool of Siloam and the Virgin's 
Fountain. The most stately and imposing part of the wall is that 
-on Zion Hill occupied by David's tower and tomb, now a soldiers' 
(barracks. The walls are strongly built. Only a portion of them is 
;as ancient as the time of Christ. 

INSIDE THE WALLS. 

An interesting place inside the walls is the pool of Hezekiah, 
Just as the ancient king built it 700 years B. C. It is about one hun- 
dred feet square. If ever used for religious purposes it has might- 
ily fallen. To see it we had to pass through a room where men were 
gambling at cards. The pool of Bethesda^ with its five porches, 
still exists, but it is buried under many feet of rubbish and is damp 
and foul. No angel, unless it be one of death, moves its waters 



396 Around the World. 

now, which, however, are intermittent as in the days of Christ. 
Several other places are pointed out which may or may not 
be reliable. Among them are the tomb of David, the upper room 
where the last supper was had, the house of Caiaphas and the 
palace of Herod. These are on the southwestern hill of the city. 
The Via Dolorosa is a long narrow street leading from the Pre- 
torium on the northwest corner of the Temple Area by circuitous 
route to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. Part of this route 
must have been taken to reach the Gordon site. Along the way 
are marked the points where the Cyrene took the cross, where a 
woman spread a veil over His face, where the daughters of Zion 
were told not to weep for Him, and the house of Dives and Laz- 
arus. All are purely imaginary and some of them impossi- 
ble. It takes ten minutes to walk from the Pretorium to the 
church of Holy Sepulchre and twice as long to the Gordon site. 
The city has been destroyed and rebuilt so often that it is prac- 
tically impossible to fix many sites with any degree of accuracy. 
On the inside the streets are narrow, paved with stones and 
many of them arched with stone and dark and gloomy. It is the 
abode of little shops, bazars, churches, monasteries and hospices. 
The population of the city within the walls is about equally divided 
between the Mohammedans and Jews. On Friday afternoons the 
Jews gather outside an old wall and lament the loss of the city. It 
is called their wailing place. They did not wail a great deal on the 
occasion of our visit, but seemed to be engaged in a fervent, tear- 
ful worship. 

BETHLEHEM. 

Six miles south of Jerusalem lies Bethlehem. It is reached by 
a broad macadamized roadway, bordered on both sides most of the 



In and Around Jei*usalem. 397 

way 'by stone fences. The trip and city are full of interest for one 
is well aware that both were undoubted scenes of great historic 
interest. There are one or two monasteries along the way and 
the vale of Rephaim is passed where David heard the soundings in 
the mulberry trees. Other purely traditional points are the well 
of the wise men and the rock where Elijah is said to have rested 
when he was running away from Jezebel. The most interesting 
and probably authentic place is the tomb of Rachel, a stone build- 
ing over the grave of Jacob's beloved wife near Bethlehem. 
West of the city is the tower where Samuel anointed Saul king of 
Israel, from "the high place" where he lived, yet plainly visible, 

Bethlehem itself is full of interest. Here we know that Jesus 
was born. Near by and easily seen from the road are the fields 
where Ruth gleaned after Boaz and where the shepherds lay at 
night on that Christmas eve nineteen hundred years ago and lis- 
tened to the angelic choir in its heavenly refrain of "Peace on 
-earth, and good will to men." The fields are now sown in wheat. 
Its green surface shone beautifully under the afternoon sun and 
in pleasing contrast with the neighboring hills. It is a quiet and 
charming spot. Just beyond it David led his flocks "in the green 
pastures and by the still waters," and near there he was anointed 
king by Samuel. No spot in all Palestine possesses more tender 
and romantic interest. Christians hereabout are in the habit of 
■celebrating there Christmas eve in a most interesting way. 

On a terraced hill covered with olive trees and in a high state of 
cultivation sits the city of Bethlehem, but little changed from 
what it was when Joseph and Mary were unable to find an abiding 
place in one of its inns, or even from what it was in the days when 
the boy David played in its streets. It has a population of about 
■8,000, chiefly Christians. The buildings are of stone, the streets 



398 Around the World. 

narrow. There is an atmosphere of higher intelHgence and pros- 
perity among its people than an}^ we have yet seen in Palestine. 
The Church of the Nativity built above the manger where the 
Savior was born stands upon the eastern border of the village 
overlooking the fields of the shepherds. It is a square structure of 
no special architectural beauty. It is divided into three parts, one 
of which is occupied by the Roman Catholics, another by the 
Greek orthodox and another by the Armenians. A guard of Mo- 
hammedan soldiers is necessary at all times to keep peace between 
them. There is something awful in the thought that at this place 
of all others, where peace and love should dwell, guns and bay- 
onets are needed to keep the worshipers of the gentle Christ from: 
killing each other. 

WHERE THE SAVIOR WAS BORN. 

The manger or chapel of the Nativity is in the basement. It is 
40 feet long, 12 feet wide and 10 feet high. The pavement and 
walls are of marble. There is a recess at one end of the room. 
Here the Christ was born. Upon the floor is a silver star with this 
inscription, "Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est," 
"Here of the Virgin Mary Jesus Christ was born." Around the 
recess burn fifteen lamps, of which six belong to the Greeks, five 
to the Armenians and four to the Latins. Clefts in the rock are 
shown where animals were tied. There seems little doubt but that 
this was the spot where Jesus was born and hence it is a sacred 
one. The original manger was carried away centuries ago. 

On the same floor is the tomb of St. Jerome, who died in 420, 
but who lived in Bethlehem and possibly in the Church of the 
Nativity where he translated the Bible into Latin. 

David's well, mention of which will be found in Second Sam- 



In and Ai'ound Jeinisalem. 399 

iiel, twenty-third chapter, fourteenth to seventeenth verses, may 
also be seen just north of Bethlehem. 

THE ROAD TO HEBRON. 

South of Bethlehem fifteen miles lies Hebron, the oldest city in 
the world, where lived Abraham and where is the cave of Mac- 
pelah in which he and his wife, Sarah, and Isaac and Jacob are 
buried. The cave is covered by a Mohammedan mosque into 
which no Christian is permitted to enter. The road to Hebron is a 
broad, smooth carriage way, through a mountainous region. An 
occasional shepherd leading his flock of goats is about the only 
evidence of human life. The three pools of Solomon mentioned 
in a former letter are passed, and are in seemingly as good 
condition as when the wise king built them to secure water for his 
temple three thousand years ago. They are nine miles from 
Jerusalem, but the aqueduct which conveyed water by gravity 
from them was twenty-eight miles long. One is 381x228 feet, 
another 4^3x159, and the largest is 582x147 feet. They are sup- 
plied by springs and rain water. Farther on are passed the ruins 
of a reservoir built by Pilate to supply Jerusalem with water. The 
subterranean aqueduct still exists. Through it the water rushes 
in a constant stream. Another spring is pointed out along the 
road as Philip's fountain where Philip is said to have baptized 
the Eunuch, 

HEBRON. 

The city of Hebron looks as ancient as it is. It probably 
contains a population of three or four thousand. The business is 
confined to small shops and to the manufacture in a crude but ex- 
pert manner of pottery. About a mile west of the Valley of 



400 Around the World. 

Mamre is a huge oak, which is claimed to be the one under which 
Abraham and Sarah entertained three angels unawares. On a 
neighboring hill they saw the smoke arising from the burning 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, south of the Dead Sea. All of 
which was possible and probable. 

This is also the Valley of Eschol, from whence Moses' spies 
brought such enormous bunches of grapes. The vineyards are 
there yet in great numbers and size. The vines are quite large 
and immense clusters are yet grown. The soil is remarkably pro- 
ductive after these four thousand years of constant use. I have 
never seen finer fields of wheat or barley or richer vegetation. 

Hebron, it will be remembered, was claimed and given to Caleb 
for his fidelity. Afterwards David reigned there as king and was 
called from that position to be king of Judah. 

There is a medical mission conducted by Dr. Patterson and a 
Protestant mission under the management of Mr. Jakko, late of 
Canada. The people are fanatically Mohammedan, Christian 
missionaries were not permitted there until a few years ago. 
There are few more interesting places in the world than the an- 
cient city of Hebron. 

MIZPAH AND EMMAUS. 

By horseback we made a trip to Neby Samuel, the ancient Miz- 
pah, where in the presence of the assembled millions of Israel, 
Samuel announced Saul to be king. It is five miles northwest of 
Jerusalem. To reach it we followed the line of the ancient Roman 
road, now nearly obliterated, upon which Paul was taken by the 
Roman soldiers to Cesarea. The journey is full of historic inter- 
est and inspiring scenery. Upon the left and to the west is an em- 
inence upon which stood the house of Obededom, where the ark 



In and Around Jerusalem. 401 

of the covenant rested. Upon a neighboring hill as if stuck 
against it is a village where John the Baptist is said to have been 
born, and upon an adjoining hill another village v\^hence came 
the unrepentant thief. To the east lies upon a great eminence 
Gibeah of Saul and to the north Ramah where the prophet Sam- 
uel lived and died. 

Mizpah, or Neby Samuel, as it is now called, is upon a very 
elevated point and is occupied by a Mohammedan mosque, from 
the tower of which there is a magnificent view of the surrounding 
country, from Jerusalem to Jaffa on the Mediterranean. It af- 
fords an idea of the splendid scenery of Palestine. The tomb of 
Samuel is claimed to be in this mosque, and is pointed out to 
travelers. But the Bible places his burial place at Ramah. 

WHERE THE SUN AND MOON STOOD STILL. 

To the north and at the foot of the mountain upon which Neby 
Samuel stands is the beautiful valley of Ajalon, a waving field of 
emerald, and in the center of it stands ancient Gibeon, the same 
where Joshua gave the command : "Sun stand thou still upon Gib- 
eon; and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood 
still and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves 
upon their enemies." All of which we believe. Some have de- 
clared that the sun and moon never shine together in Palesftue. 
But we have seen them so shine. 

EMMAUS. 

A few miles beyond Neby Samuel, along the same old Roman 
highway, is Emmaus, in a quiet valley occupied by a church and 
monastery of Francescan monks. A beautiful flower garden sur- 
rounds the place, which has an air of refinement and comfort. 
26 



402 Around the World. 

Our party enjoyed a refreshing noonday meal here, and as we did 
so we thought of Him who on the day of His resurrection walked 
along the same road which we came, was joined by two disciples 
whose eyes were holden that they did not know Him and whose 
hearts burned within them by the way and who may have broken 
bread with Him near the place where we sat. No experience we 
have had in Palestine brought us into more conscious and even 
thrilling relation to scenes of our Lord's life in this land than did 
the simple bit of home life in this quiet village of Emmaus, near 
by where He honored a similar function on the greatest day of His 
worldly career nearly nineteen hundred years ago. 



L. 

JERICHO, THE DEAD SEA AND RIVER JORDAN. 

Jerusalem, May 19, 1908. 
Of the three thousand annual visitors to Palestine it is said 
that not over thirty, or one in a hundred, visits the country east 
of the Jordan. The expense, or the Bedouins, or the strenuous 
journey, or all together, deter them„ But we took the trip. It 
consumed ten days and a ride on horseback of two hundred and 
forty miles. There were five in our party, three ladies and two 
men. We had a dragoman^ an armed Turkish soldier and 
Bedouin body guard, ten servants, ten mules, ten horses and four 
donkeys, in all seventeen people and twenty-four animals. We 
carried five tents and had practically every luxury we would have 
in the best hotel. The tents were carpeted, furnished with iron 
bedsteads and clean linen, and the fare was excellent, much of it 
being fresh, and consisted of game and vegetables purchased en 
route. We traveled twenty-five miles a day. We rose at five 
o'clock each morning, rode several hours, rested during the heat 
of the day under a tent carried along for the purpose, traveled 
several hours farther in the afternoon and reached our camp, 
which was always waiting at six o'clock. 

FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO. 

The distance from Jerusalem to Jericho where the Jordan is 
crossed is about twenty-three miles. It is a broad well macadam- 
ized carriage way and is much traveled. The descent is four thou- 
sand feet, from over twenty-seven hundred feet above sea level to 
one thousand three hundred feet below. Bethany is passed beyond 
the city two miles. From thence to Jericho there are but two 

(403) 



404 Around the World. 

buildings along the roadside. One is the Apostle's Fountain a 
few miles beyond Bethany. This is the spot where David was 
stoned by Shimei as he was fleeing from Absalom. The other is 
the Good Samaritan Inn about midway. A more barren and 
cheerless journey, or a hotter one at this season, cannot well be 
imagined. It is a long gorge, through the hills of Judea, which 
are barren, rocky and treeless^ only enlivened by occasional flocks 
of sheep or goats and the weird voice of the shepherd. It is easy 
to understand how it could have been, may yet be, infested with 
thieves. There is no lonelier spot than that of the Good Samaritan 
Inn, a stone building, where refreshment is furnished and 
the proprietor drives quite a business in curios. Upon a hill 
near by are the ruins of an old fort from which there is a fine view 
of the plain of Jericho, the Dead Sea and the Jordan. The road 
is one of the best patronized highways in Palestine and has been 
from the beginning of time. Along it undoubtedly the Master 
and the disciples often journeyed. 

WHERE ELIJAH WAS FED. 

Just before reaching the plain we departed from the regular 
highway and led our beasts down a precipitous place upon the left 
until we came to a dashing little stream which has cut a deep 
gash in the mountains. It is the Brook Cherith or the Wady Kelt 
where Elijah was fed by the ravens. Following its course a short 
distance we came to a monastery built against the cliff a hundred 
feet above the brook. It is called the monastery of St. George 
which our dragoman informed us was another name for Elijah. 
This weird, elevated lonesome monastery is occupied by several 
monks, who were engaged in a service when we visited it. Behind 
it is claimed to be the cave in which Elijah lived. Along the edge 



The Dead Sea and River Jordan. 405 

of the brook which dashes in a foaming torrent is a pretty flower 
and vegetable garden in which we noticed tomatoes, pomegran- 
ates, bananas, figs, grapes, lemons and oranges in rich profusion. 
Further down the brook are ladders leading high up the cliff into 
caves which are inhabited by hermit monks. There are numerous 
dwellings along the edge of the stream in the rocky recesses in 
which there are people living. From this brook the Romans built 
five acqueducts to furnish water to Jericho. Their ruins may be 
still seen. The waters are now used to irrigate the plains of 
Jericho, much of which is kept perennially green and productive. 

THE PLAIN AND CITIES OF JERICHO. 

The plain of Jericho is seven miles wide by sixty long, amply 
large enough to have been a camping place for the Israelitish 
millions upon their entrance to the Promised Land. It is planted 
in wheat and barley. Few spots on the earth's surface are inter- 
woven more interestingly and romantically with both sacred and 
profane history. Not only was it the place where the ark of the 
covenant and Joshua's host first rested, and of the chief city of the 
Canaanites, but the Savior must have often visited it, and we 
know that here He restored sight to the blind Bartimeus and gave 
salvation to Zaccheus. So beautiful and attractive was the plain 
that Marc Antony gave it as a present to Queen Cleopatra. She 
sold it to Herod, who rebuilt it in great magnificence and had here 
his winter palace where he died. It was called "the City of Dates 
and Palms," both of which yet grow there. Its soil is fertile. 
There were evidently two Jerichos, one in the time of Joshua, the 
other in the days of Christ. The present city of two or three 
thousand is situated between them. The ancient Jericho is being 
excavated by the German government, and several buildings and 



406 Around the World. 

streets, all small and narrow and of stone, have been discovered. 
Near these excavations is Elisha's fountain, whose waters we are 
told in the Bible were sweetened by the prophet placing salt in 
them. They are certainly sweet and pure now and furnish the in- 
habitants of all the plain with drinking water. 

The site of ancient Gilgal is also fixed near the center of the 
plain not far from the present city or village of Jericho. There are 
several fair hotels in modern Jericho and a few stores. 

On the west of the plain among a number of bleak mountains is 
Mount Quaritania, treeless, a huge mass of rock surmounted by a 
monastery and with another church or monastery upon the eastern 
side. This is supposed to have been the Mount of Temptation 
where Jesus spent forty days after His baptism. 

THE DEAD SEA. 

At the southern end of the plain of Jericho lies the Dead Sea. 
In appearance it is placid and beautiful. But its waters are hor- 
rible to the taste. Twenty-five per cent is said to be solid matter. 
The salt made from it has a commercial value and is manufactured 
in large quantities. At its southern end is a mountain of salt, 
three miles long. The sea is twelve miles wude, forty-five miles 
long and very deep. So heavy is it that one who undertakes to 
bathe in it will not sink. There is no vegetation near it, but it is 
not true that it is fatal to birds that fly over it. No boats sail 
upon it, although they might do so. This is said to be the lowest 
spot upon the surface of the earth. 

THE RIVER JORDAN. 

We rode from the Dead Sea to the river Jordan under a burning 
sun. The view was inspiring. To the west lay the mountains of 



The Dead Sea and River Jordan. 407 

Judea and Benjamin and in plain view the Mount of Olives. 
Across the Jordan on the east in solemn grandeur rose the moun- 
tains of Moab. the highest of all being Nebo. Strange to say there 
was marked upon it in clear outline near the summit a white cross 
which grew more conspicuous the farther we rode. We suppose 
it was made by the peculiar rock formations but we could not 
discover it when we reached the top of the mountain. But this 
picture of a cross upon the mountain whence the Lord took Moses 
was most suggestive. The river Jordan is a more beautiful 
stream than we had supposed. It runs through grassy and 
wooded banks, and upon the occasion of our visit its waters were 
high. While not clear it is not muddy. It reminded us of the 
Tweed in Scotland, or the Avon near Shakespeare's birthplace. 
The forest on both sides is of tamarisk and willow and so dense 
as to be almost impenetrable. The river is about fifty feet wide 
at the place where we visited it, the reputed site of our Lord's bap- 
tism. The spot is a quiet and lovely one which shall linger in 
our memory always. We camped several miles farther up the 
stream. The moon was at its full, the air was gentle and balmy 
and the place and the hour were such as to awaken the holiest 
thoughts and memories. We were beyond question upon the 
spot where over three thousand years before the Israelitish host 
had crossed into the Land of Promise upon dry land, not far from 
where our Savior had stood in the baptismal waters beneath the 
open heavens, while a dove had descended to announce His Di- 
vine Sonship; while but a short distance off Elijah had ascended 
to Heaven upon a chariot of fire. I think all of our party were 
properly and deeply impressed with the solemnity of the hour, 
so much so that we gave expression to our feelings in song, among 
which there was one which^ while not as classic as some others, 



408 Around the World. 

awakened memories sweet and tender of the long receded past and 
whose first stanza came back to me as a requiem from the dead : 

"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 

And cast a wistful eye 
To Canaan's fair and happy land, 

Where my possessions lie." 

Often to the ancient tune have I heard it sung by lips long 
silent. As we sang it upon the banks of this earthly Jordan I 
wondered if they heard it in the real Canaan to which they have 
gone. I lay awake almost the night through thinking of so many 
of those who had crossed the Jordan of death and whom I know 
I must follow in the dim unknown. 

At this point we crossed the river upon a bridge to spend the 
next eight days in the land of Moab and Gilead. An account of 
this trip one of the most interesting and informing we have taken 
anywhere, will be embodied in the next letter. 




IN PALESTINE — The Dead Sea — Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem — Syrian JVomen- 

The Good Samaritan Inn 



LI. 

ON THE EAST OF THE JORDAN. 

Jerusalem, May 21, 1908. 
Breaking our camp at the bridge over Jordan on the morning 
of May 16, we started upon our tour of the country "beyond 
Jordan," so often referred to in the Bible, but so little described 
and since then so rarely visited. We have not spent any week 
of our journey around the world in a manner more enjoyable, in- 
teresting and profitable. 

THE SPRINGS OF MOSES. 

Across from the plains of Jericho lie those of Moab, of about 
the same size and general character, flat with occasional large 
mounds or hills^ formed of some sort of alkaline or other mineral 
deposit left by the ocean in ages past. Here the children of 
Israel gathered before crossing the Jordan. There was ample 
room for them. We ascended from the plain to the springs of 
Moses under Mount Pisgah. Reference to these springs may be 
found in the last verse of the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy. 
Undoubtedly Moses drank from them. A strong stream of pure 
water gushes from the mountain side, refreshing all the valley. 
The scene from here is beautiful. At this sequestered spot we 
camped for the night and drank water as we had not since we left 
America. 

MOUNT NEBO. 

I arose early next morning and saw the sun rise over the 
mountains. It was a scene of glorious charm and beauty. I heard 
a gun shot upon the side of Mount Pisgah just above us. 

(409) 



410 Around the World. 

Looking up I saw a Bedouin, gun in hand, rushing down the 
mountain side to pick up a partridge he had slain. I thought of 
David's reference to Saul hunting him as a partridge on the 
mountain. The partridges of this region are as large as the prairie 
chickens of America and the color of a dove but more beautiful. 
They are a delicious fowl, fully equal to the pheasant or quail. 
Early we rode to the summit of Mount Pisgah, which is the 
central of three peaks of Mount Nebo, the other two being Suf 
and Nebo. From this point Moses viewed the Land of Promise. 
He could unquestionably have seen much of it upon a clear day. 
The day was hazy when we were there, but the view was very fine. 
There are the ruins of a large church upon the summit. We spent 
Sunday there and read all the Bible passages bearing upon it. 
Bethpeor was probably south of Mt. Suf, another peak, and in 
the neighboring valley it is supposed Moses was buried. 

It is remarkable how all this region verifies the Bible record. 

MEDABAR. 

Through immense fields of wheat we rode southwest some eight 
or ten miles to the Bedouin village of Medabar. It is a place of 
about a thousand inhabitants and was standing when the children 
of Israel reached this point on their way to Canaan. There is 
reference to it in the ninth verse of the thirteenth chapter of 
Joshua. Upon the east is a large and beautiful plain, verdant with 
wheat where Joab, David's great lieutenant, vanquished the com- 
bined armies of the Ammonites and Syrians in one of the greatest 
battles of ancient times. At the town is a church in which i? a 
map of Palestine wrought in mosaic very ancient and interesting. 
There are several other traces of mosaic and ancient architecture 
in the place. 



On the East of the Jordan. 411 

HESHBON. 

From Medabar we pursued our journey north through contin- 
uous fields of wheat and a most picturesque country until we 
■came to a huge mound, which is the remains of Heshbon, Avhere 
resided the king of Sihon, who opposed the onward march of the 
children of Israel and who, with all his people were slain by the 
order of Moses. It seemed cruel, but it was necessary. Else the 
children of Israel could not have reached the Land of Promise. 
Thence the Israelites turned westward and entered the Jordan val- 
ley. Heshbon was their turning point. We descended from the city 
into a deep gorge and entered a valley in which are the Springs 
of Heshbon, whose fish-pools are referred to in the Song of Sol- 
omon. The Israelites must have passed along this valley and have 
drunk these waters. 

AN INTERESTING COUNTRY. 

We rode for eighty-four miles from south to north through 
this ancient land of Moab and Gilead. This was given by Moses, 
it will be remembered, to Reuben and Gad, who being cattle rais- 
ers, preferred it to the land on the other side. They were wise 
for it is the richer of the two. There are but three or four cities 
or villages along this entire district. It is thinly inhabited by 
Bedouins, who live under wretched tents or sheds of black goat 
hair, for there are no walls to them. The sheep and goats and 
dogs share the abodes with them. There is not a farm house or 
building of any kind through this entire distance, except those in 
the villages. The people grow wheat and raise sheep. I have 
never seen sheep as large or with such luxuriant coats of wool. 
The magnificent herds moving over the green fields look like great 
billows or enormous logs of white rolling over the land. The 



412 Around the World. 

landscape is beautiful. Nowhere in the world have I seen such 
quantity and such luxuriance of wild flowers. At places as far 
as the eye can reach it resembles one great flower garden. The 
fields of wheat are illimitable. But it is all harvested by sickle and 
bound by hand as it is cut. The soil is red. The intermingling 
of the green of the wheat, the bright hues of the many-colored 
flowers and the red of the soil under the lights and shadows of the 
sun as reflected in the valleys from the neighboring mountains 
is a picture of indescribable beauty. Yet with all this magnificent 
growth of wheat added to luxuriant fruit and vegetable products 
the people are very poor. They are grievously taxed by the 
Turks. 

RABBOTH AMMON. 

At the extreme eastern point of our journey we reached and 
camped at Ammon, the ancient Rabboth-Ammon of scripture. 
This is where David made Joab put Uriah^ whose wife Barsheba^ 
David had taken, in the forefront of battle and had him killed. 
In the center is a high hill, on the top of which is a citadel, 
which David and Joab captured from the Ammonites, description 
of which will be found in Second Samuel, twelfth chapter, twenty- 
sixth to thirty-first verses. It must have been a valorous achieve- 
ment, as the hill is still diflicult of ascent. There is a powerful 
wall around most of it and several temples of handsome archi- 
tecture. At the foot of the hill in the city are the ruins of a roof- 
less theater capable of holding an audience of six thousand. It is 
built of marble, and the style of architecture is classic. Neither 
the Stadium at Harvard or that at the University of CaHfornia 
surpass or equal it in architecture. In front of it is an elliptical 
forum surrounded by Corinthian pillars of marble^ where it is 



On the East of the Jordan. 413 

probable there were fights between gladiators or wild beasts. The 
proscenium has fallen down, but was evidently very handsome. 
There is a beautiful marble Odeon building near by and a temple, 
<:hurch and other buildings of equal beauty in the city. There are 
the remains of a row of columns lining each side of a street 
through the city^ the ruins of a bath and there still stand portions 
of the archway of a bridge. These improvements were made 
some time during the Roman occupation, probably about the time 
of Christ. This city was then called Philadelphia and was one of 
the ten cities of Perea. Through it the Savior and his disciples 
probably passed en route from Galilee to Jerusalem, and here some 
of his miracles may have been performed. These classic ruins 
indicate the high civilization which existed when the Savior was 
on earth and that too among the people where He taught and 
wrought. 

JERASH. 

Forty miles north of Ammon is the city of Jerash, the most in- 
teresting in its ruins of any city we have seen in Asia. The indi- 
cations strongly are that it is the ancient city of Mahanaim named 
by Jacob when he met two hosts of angels there when he was en 
route to Canaan after his parting with Laban. A few miles south 
of it is the brook Jabbok and in all probability the ford which he 
crossed and where he spent the night in the wrestle with the angel. 
There is not a more beautiful stream of water in the world. It 
is not over twenty-five feet wide, it is clear as a crystal, dashes 
over a bed of smooth white stones and is lined on both sides as far 
■as we could see with oleanders, which when we were there were in 
full bloom. The sparkling little stream was literally embowered 
in flowers. 



414 Ai'ound the World. 

Mahanaim was the city to which David fled when driven from 
Jerusalem by Absalom. It was in the country near there that the 
battle was waged between the followers of Absalom and those of 
David under Joab. It was in one of the oaks in this region that 
Absalom was caught either by the hair or head and was slain by 
Joab. The oaks are there now and as then, of thick and tangled 
branches. It is easy to understand how a man with long hair 
could have been caught in them, for the forest is dense in some 
places. It was at the gate at Mahanaim that David received the 
news of the death of Absalom and it was from the watch-tower 
between the two gates that the messengers were descried running 
with the sad tidings. It was to this watch-tower that David ascend- 
ed crying, "Oh, Absalom, Absalom, my son Absalom, would God I 
had died for thee. Oh, Absalom, my son, my son." A gate^ very 
ancient, stands there today, or a double gate which exactly an- 
swers the Bible description. From the tower or arch between, the 
two gates is a clear view of the plain which stretches in front. If 
not the same gate it may be a copy of it. 

ARCHITECTURE OF JERASH. 

Jerash is one of the sights, if not one of the wonders of the 
world. It is a mass of magnificent ruins unsurpassed by any we 
have seen in any land. We have already referred to the gate. 
The central part, which we have mentioned as a watch-tower, is 
also a triumphal arch 82 feet wide. The carvings and general 
architecture of the gateway are very handsome. Just inside the 
city is an enormous reservoir 300x700 feet, called a Naumachia 
and used for the representation of naval battles. In the city arc 
two long streets crossing each other lined on both sides with hand- 
some colonnades, mounted with an elaboratelv carved entablature. 



On the East of the Jordan. 415 

The chief street terminates in an elliptical forum, enclosed by 
one hundred Ionic columns, most of them still standing. Fronting 
upon this street and overlooking this forum is a spendid temple 
nearly all in ruins with columns probably thirty feet high and six 
feet in diameter. By its side is a large theater similar to the one 
at Amnion and overlooking the entire city. 

On the highest point in the city is the Temple of the Sun, a 
splendid structure with a portico of fourteen magnificent columns 
38 feet high and six feet thick. There are near the temple another 
open theater similar to but smaller than the one already mention- 
ed, several massive bridges across the Jabbok and other temples 
and edifices numerous and classic. 

The wall around the city is ancient.. It was also one of the ten 
cities of Perea or of the Decapolis and its fine buildings were 
erected about or soon after the Christian era. It indicates the ex- 
istence of a very advanced civilization. It is so isolated and inac- 
cessible that few see or hear of it, but it is worth the cost and labor 
of a visit. 

CITY OF ES SALT. 

Jerash was the farthest point north which we reached. We 
were told that Gadara farther on and near Galilee also contained 
some interesting ruins and that not far distant was Ajlun supposed 
to be the ancient Ramoth-Gilead. But the strength of our party 
being about exhausted we returned. Much of our journey was up 
and down hills over which even our animals, climbers as they 
were, could not carry us. Nearly all of it was by paths and 
through a most wild and broken country. But the people were 
not unfriendly, a fact possibly influenced by the presence of our 
armed guard. On our return to Jericho we stopped and camped 



416 Around the World. 

for the night at the ancient city of Es Salt, thirty miles northwest 
of Jerusalem. It contains seventeen thousand people, is built of 
stone in between mountains and is similar in appearance to most 
Palestine and Syrian cities. Like the valley where Jerash stands 
the country is very fertile, but there are no evidences of handsome 
architecture present or past. It is difficult to identify Es Salt with 
any of the cities mentioned in the Bible. Some have thought it to 
have been Mahanaim; others Ramoth-Gilead. But there is not 
much reason to sustain either theory. It is very ancient and in- 
teresting and the most important city we saw east of Jordan. 

A railroad is now being built from Damascus to Mecca which 
runs not many miles from Jerash, Ammon, and Es Salt. The 
natives are resisting it, but the Turks are pushing it through by 
force of arms. We met a large body of Turkish soldiers en route 
there to protect the builders. It is already finished far southward. 
When completed to Mecca it will open up this long hidden region 
to the light of progress. 



LII. 

INTERESTING AND SACRED SPOTS IN PALESTINE. 

Nablous, Palestine, June i, 1908. 
A representative of Cambridge University, England, a cultiva- 
ted and interesting man, who has been engaged in excavating 
Palestine cities for the past ten years^ is my authority for the 
statement that there are the debris of twenty distinct cities under 
the present Jerusalem. Babylonians and Assyrians and Egyptians 
and Moslems and Crusaders and many others have wrought this 
work of devastation not only in Jerusalem but all over Palestine 
until there are very few buildings which are older than the 
twelfth century and few even of those destroyed whose sites can 
be identified. Hence practically all the structures named in the 
guide books as having existed since the days of the Savior are 
fictitious and many of the sacred sites are purely traditional and 
not to be relied on. But the hills and valleys and plains and rivers 
and lakes are still here, as are also the sites of the cities and other 
spots where there were not cities. And about these there is a 
fascinating interest to every lover of history and believer in the 
Scriptural narrative. 

GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE AND VICINITY. 

The place designated as the Garden of Gethsemane must be 
either the identical one where our Lord suffered the agony and 
bloody sweat or near to it. It is now a well-kept flower garden 
enclosed in a stone wall, an iron fence surrounding the garden, 
while a pavement separates it from the stone wall. There are in the 
garden a number of handsome spruce trees and several old olive 
trees none of which however could have existed since the Christian 

(417) 

27 



418 Around the World. 

era. The garden lies on the east side of the Brook Kedron, at the 
foot of the Mount of OHves, and directly opposite the Temple 
Area. Near it are the tombs of Mary and Joseph and down the 
Kedron valley about two hundred feet are Absalom's pillar, and 
the tombs of St. James and Zechariah. Still farther south down 
the brook are the Virgin's Fountain and the pool of Siloam, the 
latter much neglected and filthy. Across the Kedron from the 
pool of Siloam, southeast of the city, is the Field of Blood or 
Potters' Field bought with the money paid Judas as the price 
of betrayal. All these points are fairly well identified. This 
section is covered with tombs or gardens and being located 
upon the precipitous sides of Moriah or Olivet or in the 
picturesque valley of Jehoshaphat through which flows the 
Brook Kedron it is most interesting. There are many build- 
ings here of ancient stone type. It is called the Village of 
Siloam. Modern scholars are beginning to fix this as Mount Zion 
instead of that heretofore regarded as that location. xA.s most 
of it is in the valley it is difficult to understand how it could have 
been called "Mount." But there are many arguments in favor 
of this being the ancient city of David or Mount Zion. 

KIRJATHJEARIM AND HOUSE OF OBED-EDOM. 

Ten miles west of Jerusalem on the Jaffa road is the village of 
Aboosha, the ancient Kirjathjearim, containing several hundred 
inhabitants in a pleasant valley into which gushes a living foun- 
tain and which is green with olive and fig and other trees of lux- 
uriant growth. Here the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty 
years when it was brought back upon an ox cart from the 
Philistines. It will be recalled how that when David started to 
remove it one Uzzah touched the cart as it jostled and he was 



Sacred Spots in Palestine. 419 

stricken dead. If the road there was as rough then as now the 
ark must have been well fastened on the cart or only a divine hand 
could have kept it from overturning. The house of Obededom, 
whence it was taken for three months^ still is to be seen upon a 
high point not far from Kirjathjearim and between that place and 
Jerusalem. Nestling among trees vipon a neighboring mountain 
upon the south is the reputed village where John the Baptist was 
born. All this region as is that in every direction from Jerusalem 
is an endless chain of treeless mountains, dotted at rare intervals 
with villages, some perched upon the summits, others seemingly 
glued to the sides, or others reposing amid green trees in the val- 
leys. 

LEAVING JERUSALEM. 

We spent five weeks in the city of Jerusalem. We explored it 
inside and outside the walls we think thoroughly. Every spot of 
interest we visited, some of them several times with competent 
guides. We went as far south as Hebron and were ten days 
beyond the Jordan. We had already traveled from Jafifa on the 
west to the city. Having thus visited the country fairly well east, 
west and south as well as the city itself we started upon May 30, 
by carriages for a trip to the north, our objective point being the 
Sea of Galilee and Nazareth. The recent construction of excellent 
roads by the Turkish government renders it possible now to reach 
nearly all the important points in Palestine by carriage. xA.s the 
hotels are fairly good it is probable that this method of transpor- 
tation through the country will supplant camping, not because 
it is more comfortable, for it is less so, but because it is quicker 
and cheaper. Then the probabilities of broken limbs or even 
fatal injuries by horse-back riding are removed. Many serious 



420 Around the World. 

accidents occur from this cause. One occurred in our own party, 
the result of a horse stumbHng and faUing on level ground. So 
we concluded to take carriages. 

Viewed from any direction Jerusalem is beautiful, but the most 
inspiring sight to be had of it is from the northeast. It is the sum- 
mit of Mount Scopus. Not only are all the red roofs, the domes 
and towers, the city walls and splendid stone structures of the 
city in conspicuous view, but the Mount of Olives, the Mosque 
of Omar, the fields of green and the orchards of olive trees stretch- 
ing away to the mountains. Upon the east are the desolate and 
frowning mountains of Judca^ yawning from hundreds of feet 
below, as they descend into the Dead Sea and the River Jordan. 
The latter were flashing the sunlight from their waters 
at the base of the mountains of Moab twenty miles away 
as we bade adieu to Jerusalem. The morning was a 
glorious one and the scene will linger with us always. I do not 
wonder that the Savior so often sought these heights upon the 
east of the city and that from them were delivered some of His 
most wonderful teachings. For it was His custom to seek places 
of natural beauty. And when looking upon such a scene He real- 
ized that within a few years it would be swept aw^ay 'by the ruth- 
less invaders and its people murdered or exiled, all as a penalty 
for their rejection of Him, it can be understood why He should 
have wept over it and uttered the most plaintive wail of His life. 

FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHEL. 

Our first day's journey was from Jerusalem to Nablous, the 

site of ancient Shechem. The region is one of great scenic 

beauty and unsurpassed historic interest. It is continuously 

mountainous, with occasionally fertile valleys. The mountains 



Sacred Spots in Palestine. 421 

are not of the massive, lofty kind like our Rockies, but 
are huge foot-hills. You will recall the plates of apple 
dumplings which our mothers used to serve us in Missouri. 
They are a topographical miniature of the surface of nineteen- 
twentieths of Palestine. The mountains are void of trees, but are 
limitless masses of rock. Occasionally the soil has been caught and 
held in terraces by stone walls, but most of it has long ago washed 
down into the valleys which are exhaustlessly fertile, the depth of 
soil being great. On the road we meet continuous trains of camels 
and donkeys, loaded with stones and wood and grain^ and accom- 
panied by crowds of Arabs of all sexes and ages. If any of them 
are riding it will be the men. The women invariably walk. 1 
have felt my humanity rise within me repeatedly as I have beheld 
a big, strapping man riding placidly upon a camel or donkey, while 
a bare-footed woman or several of them trudged along over the 
stones leading the animal. Camels, donkeys and women all bear 
the same meek, submissive and surrendered look in Palestine. 
They are the burden bearers of the land. There are no wheeled 
vehicles of any kind to be seen in central or southern Palestine 
outside of Jerusalem. Those there are chiefly carriages for local 
transportation of travelers. 

There are no farm houses or fences or farms, but occasional 
fields of wheat or barley. In the valleys and where there is 
water upon the hill-sides there are groves of olive, fig or pome- 
granates, the chief fruit trees of the countries. 

PLACES OF BIBLE INTEREST. 

Nearly every one of the ancient cities of Palestine were built 
upon high points. We are told that the worshippers of Baal 
sought "the high places," but not more so than did the Lord's 



422 Around the World. 

chosen people. The first site of interest north of Jerusalem is that 
of Nob, which stands upon an elevated point a few miles north 
of the city. This it will be remembered is where the high priest 
Abimelech lived and where David ate the shew bread when he was 
hungry. Hearing of this Saul slew Abimelech and all his priests. 
Upon the adjoining hill to Nob is Gibeah, the capital of Israel 
during Saul's reign, and a few miles farther is Ramah, where 
Samuel lived and died. Of these only Ramah has a house left 
upon its site, and it is now a wretched village of a few huts. Upon 
the high point several miles to the west and opposite the foregoing 
stands Neby Samuel, the ancient Mizpah^ where Saul was declar- 
ed king. Upon another high point to the left is a bare hill where 
once stood ancient Ataroth whence Deborah judged Israel. 

About ten miles from Jerusalem we pass ancient Beeroth, which 
according to tradition is the spot where Joseph and Mary dis- 
covered the absence from the company of the child Jesus and 
turned back to seek for Him, finding Him in the Temple with the 
Doctors. Beeroth is also interesting as having been the home 
of the sons of Rimmon, Rechab and Baanah, who slew Ishbo- 
sheth, the son of Saul, and took his body to David, who at once 
ordered both of them to be slain and their hands and feet hung 
over the pool in Hebron. 

BETHEL AND SHILOH. 

A short distance east of Beeroth and away from the carriage 
road is the site of ancient Bethel. It became necessary for us to 
deflect from our course and go there by horse-back. The pathway 
is a rugged one. En route we pass a pool of water fed by a liv- 
ing spring. It is claimed to be the pool in which Philip baptized 
the Eunuch. But as we had been shown at least one other pool 



Sacred Spots in Palestine. 423 

south of Jerusalem where this event occurred, and as the pool 
shown us did not seem deep enough for a baptism to satisfy our 
Baptist views we were not inclined to accept it. Before reaching 
the site of Bethel we entered a valley between two mountains, 
the stratified rocks upon which cause both of them to resemble 
stairways. We wondered if the sight of these hills had impress- 
ed the mind of the boy Jacob as he passed along so as to lead him 
to dream of the ladder of Angels at night. We see nothing in- 
consistent with such a natural means for attaining a supernatural 
end. Bethel itself is now a mass of miserable mud structures. 
There are the ruins of an old church and a fountain near which 
Jacob is supposed to have slept. The place is a valley and there 
are some fine fruit trees and a vineyard near by. Not far away 
upon an adjoining hill is the supposed home of Abraham, whence 
he removed from Shechem. A few miles to the southeast nest- 
led in the mountains is the site of Ai, where Joshua and his hosts 
had their first encounter with the Canaanites upon their arrival 
in the Promised Land. And Michmash^ another historic point, 
lies hard by. This is a wild, rocky, mountainous and desolate 
country, relieved by neither stream nor valley, shade tree nor 
flower. Whatever it may have been in ancient days it possesses no 
attraction now. 

North of Bethel several miles is the valley where for four hun- 
dred years rested the Ark of the Covenant, and which during all 
that period succeeding the entrance of the children of Israel into 
Canaan was their national capital. It was then named Shiloh, and 
its fame has descended for these four thousand years. Now but 
a few stones and huts mark the spot. In its wildness and its deso- 
lation it is typical of the wreck and ruin and change in this land 
once flowing with milk and honey and among these people once 
the chosen of God. 



LIII. 
SHECHEM AND SAMARIA. 

Nablous, Palestine, June 4, 1908. 
At almost the exact geographical center of Palestine is the site 
of ancient Shechem. No place in all that land has a more fascin- 
ating history or is in the midst of a more charming and fertile 
region. The broad and beautiful valley of Aloreh. opulent in 
fruits and vegetables, in barley and wheat, stretches upon the east. 
In its flowers, its green fields and greener trees and its coral soil, 
a symposium of multi-colored beauty, enlivened by frequent vil- 
lages and a scene of busy pastoral and agricultural life it lies in 
between ranges of purple mountains and runs north and south 
intersecting the narrow Shechem Valley at Jacob's Well. We 
reached the latter just as the rays of the setting sun were shed- 
ding a flood of golden light upon the mountains and valleys, 
rendering the whole scene one of indescribable gentleness and 
charm. The well is one of the sites whose genuineness is 
undisputed. It was there four thousand years ago that Abraham 
first pitched his tent upon entering Canaan, and there Jacob owned 
the land which was given by him to Joseph. Its chief interest 
lies in the fact that upon the stone above it, possibly the identical 
one that rests on it now, the wearied Christ sat and had His 
memorable conversation with the Samaritan woman. It is 
being preserved by the Greek orthodox church which has 
erected a wall about it and a house above it and carefully 
guards it. A few years ago it was covered with and was 
full of rubbish, but this has been removed down to a depth 
of eighty feet. There is no water in it now, but it fills with water 
in rainy seasons. There still remains a quantity of rock in the 

(424) 




IN PALESTINE— Rachel's Tomb Near Bethlehem— The River Jordari—The Valley 
of Jericho — The Mount of Oli-ves 



Shechem and Samaria. 425 

bottom. How much deeper the well is no one knows. Its diam- 
eter is seven feet and the walls which are of excellent stone mason- 
ry are in perfect condition, never having been repaired so far as 
any one knows. A fourth of a mile to the north lies a dome cov- 
ered tomb, which is said to be that of Joseph. A mile farther 
north is a group of houses which are claimed to be upon the site 
of the ancient city of Sychar. Modern scholars are inclined to 
place the latter nearer to the well. Many olive and fig trees grow 
in the vicinity and a stream of water runs near. The soil is very 
fertile. 

THE VALE OF SHECHEM. 

Our father Abraham knew a good piece of ground when he saw 
it. We visited the valley of Mamre near Hebron where he spent 
most of his life, and thought we had never seen a more fertile 
tract of land. But it is equalled if not surpassed by Shechem. Into 
both the rich alluvial soil of the adjacent mountains has been car- 
ried until it has exhaustless depth and productiveness. There is 
every reason to believe that it was as prolific when he first pitched 
his tent in Palestine in this spot over forty centuries ago. Fig, 
pomegranate, lemon, orange, olive, all the trees indigenous to the 
land grow in luxuriance and beauty. Interminable gardens of 
flowers and vegetables and fields of grain extend along it, and the 
fountains of pure water which dash from the mountain sides keep 
the soil at all times fresh and its increase prolific. The valley lies 
in between the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, which are nowhere 
over a mile apart. It also extends far beyond them to the west- 
ward. It is never more than a few miles wide. 

NABLOUS. 

The city of Nablous, containing 25,000 people, next to Jeru- 
salem the largest city in Palestine, also lies in the vale between 



426 Around the World. 

Ebal and Gerizim. Its inhabitants are nearly all Mohammedan and 
quite fanatical. A church and hospital both under the Church of 
England are the only Protestant organizations here. This was 
the city of the ancient Samaritans, whose temple was upon the 
summit of Mount Gerizim where they still observe the passover 
as did the ancient Jews. There are i8o of this sect yet left. We 
visited their synagogue and were shown manuscript copies of the 
Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua, which they claim to have 
been copied by the grandson of Aaron thirty-five hundred years 
ago. While their claim cannot be sustained it is thought that the 
manuscripts are as old as the Christian Era and among the most 
ancient in existence. The Samaritans are Monotheists, believe in 
Moses, but not in Christ. They also believe in the resurrection 
and the last judgment, but still maintain their ancient hostility to 
the Jews. 

shechem's place in biblical history. 

In addition to having been Abraham's first stopping place and 
Jacob's home and Joseph's place of burial Shechem was the spot 
where the tribes of Israel first gathered after their conquest of the 
country to hear the law read and to enter into their national 
covenant with each other. Upon the two mountains of Gerizim 
and Ebal the people were stationed and exchanged the blessings 
and the cursings. The human voice can be easily heard from 
one mountain side to the other. The mountains extend along the 
valley four or five miles. There is ample space upon them and in 
the valleys for the tribes to have assembled. The incident of 
Abimelech described in the ninth chapter of Judges can be well 
understood by a visit to the spot which is in many respects a na- 
tural auditorium. 

Here at Shechem the tribes of Israel separated during the reign 



Shechem and Samaria. 427 

of Rehoboam, and Jeroboam set up the capital of the Northern 
Kingdom. It was also the scene of many bloody battles during 
the Roman period and the time of the crusades. Next to Jerusa- 
lem no spot in Palestine has played so important a part in the his- 
tory of the country with the possible exception of 

ANCIENT SAMARIA. 

On a beautiful hill 330 feet high and a mile and a half square, 
ten miles west of Nablous lie the remains of ancient Samaria, the 
xnost splendid city of its time. Luxuriant olive and fig and oak 
trees cover the hill and adjoining valleys and mountains and liv- 
ing fountains preserve the whole region in perennial green. From 
its summit is a splendid view, extending to the Mediterranean on 
the west and the Lebanon mountains on the north. We spent 
a half day in a most interesting visit to its ruins. In the day of its 
glory it must have been magnificent. Here Ahab had his gor- 
geous ivory palace located probably upon the western extremity 
and the highest point upon the summit. Here Jehu, the fearful 
avenger of the Most High, slew all the representatives of Baal, 
and all the kinsmen of Ahaziah, King of Judah. Here for many 
years stood the capital of the Northern Kingdom and was the 
center of pride and luxury of the different dynasties which held 
court there from Omri its builder to Herod. In the sixth and 
seventh chapters of Second Kings will be found a record of the 
terrible condition of the city during its siege by the Syrians and 
of the relief which came by Divine interposition through the pro- 
phet Elisha. 



428 Around the World. 

SPLENDID RUINS. 

Not a vestige of the city of Ahab's time remains. It was de- 
stroyed by Sargon 722 B. C. But the magnificent ruins of the 
city of Herod the Great, which were built above the ruins of the 
ancient city are to be found both upon the surface and in the ex- 
cavations now being made by a party of explorers from the Harv- 
ard University. This exploration is in charge of Dr. David G. 
Lyon, Hollis Professor of Divinity and teacher of Semitic Lan- 
guages and Literature of Harvard University. He attended Wil- 
liam Jewell College in Missouri in the early seventies and after- 
wards graduated at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 
at Louisville, Kentucky. He is assisted by Dr. Schumacher, of 
Haifa, Palestine, and Mr. Clarence Fisher, of Philadelphia. At 
present the natives are objecting to the excavations, but this 
trouble will no doubt be overcome. Important information is 
expected from the work. Enough exploration has been accom- 
plished to afford a fair idea of the plan of the city and the char- 
acter of the principal buildings and streets. Upon the eastern ter- 
race of the summit stood the palace of Herod the Great. Its great 
size as well as its magnificent architecture is indicated in the 
long lines of noble marble pillars with their Corinthian capitals 
still standing. Some of them including the bases upon which they 
rest are in an excellent state of preservation. Adjoining the pal- 
ace and extending to the valley below was the mammoth theater,, 
the side of the hill being utilized for the seats and the valley for the 
amphitheatre where no doubt occurred gladiatorial contests, or 
human beings were made to combat with wild beasts for the 
amusement of the bloody monarch and his court. There are re- 
mains of other noble buildings upon the summit. L'pon its west- 
ern edge are the foundations of a great edifice, possibly a temple 



Shechem and Samaria. 429 

from whose pinnacle the Mediterranean was plainly visible, and 
the view of Palestine was extended and very fine. 

Portions of the ancient wall of the city have been excavated, 
and there is still standing the city gate on the west side as in the 
days of Ahab, and in which was trampled to death by the starving 
inhabitants, the lord appointed by King Ahab to guard the gate 
the morning after the withdrawal of the Syrians. His death came 
■as a penalty of his lack of faith in the prophet Elisha. 

The terrace upon which stands the Palace is surrounded by 
three or four colonnades of marble pillars^ over 2,000, lining a 
wide street which completely encircled the terrace. Many of 
these pillars are still standing. 

JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

In a mosque in the little village which still stands upon the east- 
ern side of the hill are the alleged tombs of Obadiah, Elisha and 
John The Baptist. Some think that the latter was beheaded here 
rather than at Machaerus upon the Dead Sea. That bloody deed was 
by order of Herod Antipas, the son of Herod The Great. Whether 
Herod Antipas ever resided here is a subject for historians to 
■decide. If he did it is not improbable that in one of his revels 
in the splendid palace the great forerunner here lost his head. 
The only authority for placing the act at Machaerus is Josephus, 
who is is not always accurate. If it be true that John the Baptist 
was here beheaded there is a singular and fitting coincidence in the 
fact that the two kings upon w^hom the two EUases had uttered 
anathemas, Ahab, who had been denounced by Elijah, and Herod 
who had been boldly charged with his sin by John, the Second 
Elias, should have been bereft of their glory in the same city, and 
have likewise incurred the judgments of the Most High and the 



430 Ai'ound the World. 

obloquy and detestation of mankind. A parallelism in their lives 
is to be found in that each was dominated by a bad and designing 
woman, and that each stands as an illustration of the inevitable 
doom which follows a life of pride and cruelty and wickedness.. 

PROPHECY FULFILLED. 

Few spots upon the earth have a history so revoltingly and 
dramatically tragic and so expressive of the vengeance of the 
Almighty upon the flagrant violators of His command- 
ments and the enemies and oppressors of His people. 
Probably the most vicious and blood thirsty monarchs of 
the Old Testament were Ahab and his cruel queen Jezebel, and 
of the New Herod the Great. All three were not only steeped in- 
iniquity of the deepest dye, but they rioted in power and glory 
and luxury. As upon a quiet Sunday morning in May I walked 
over this site of this ancient and remarkable city, and wandered 
amid these classic memorials of its pride and greatness and re- 
called the deeds of blood and rapine, the scenes of luxury and 
wickedness of which it was once the center, and then as I listened 
to the singing of the birds in the trees and felt the stillness and 
solitude of this peaceful place I could but be impressed with the 
object lesson it presented, of what changes time had wrought, and 
of how the judgments of the Almighty were sometimes slow, but 
righteous altogether. I understood then as I never had before the 
malediction of Israel's greatest prophet, who undoubtedly had 
reference to this very spot and the doom which would befall it in 
his memorable prophecy. 

"Behold the Lord hath a mighty and strong one which as a 
tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty 
waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand^ 



Shechem and Samaria. 431 

The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden 
under feet; and the glorious beauty which is on the head of the 
fat valley shall be a fading flower and as the hasty fruit before the 
summer." 



LIV. 

FROM NABLOUS TO NAZARETH. 

Nazareth^ Galilee,, June 5, 1908. 
Twenty miles north of the vale of Shechem lies the plain of 
Dothan in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery of Pal- 
estine. Only a few ruins and trees and an old spring mark this 
spot where Joseph was sold by his brethren and where Elisha 
strengthened the faith of his servant by the celestial vision of 
horses and chariots. To reach the point from Shechem it is nec- 
essary to go upon horse back. Our route by carriage had to be by 
the northwest along the Mediterranean. There is a broad, smooth 
stone highway which runs through the beautiful vale of Shechem 
until it enters the plain of Sharon which skirts the western border 
of Palestine. This plain varies in width from five to twenty 
miles and extends from ancient Philistia upon the south to Phoe- 
nicia on the north. It resembles a broad Missouri prairie and is 
equally as fertile and beautiful, having the additional attraction 
of the Mediterranean as a background. The principal product 
grown is wheat, of which there are large fields. The reaping is 
chiefly by hand, the grain being cut with sickles of the primitive 
type and bundled as it is cut. Along our way we frequently pass 
large threshing floors precisely like those of ancient days. 
Either donkeys, horses or oxen are treading out the grain, which 
it is claimed more effectually separates it from the stalk than 
can be done by machinery. There is not a threshing machine in 
Palestine or Syria. After the wheat is trodden out it has to lie 
in a heap until the tax-gatherer comes along and claims a part of 
it for revenue. The taxation of the produce of the country is like 
the tariff in ours^ all and more than it can bear. Plowing is all 

(432) 



From ISTablous to Nazareth. 433 

done by oxen and with one straight iron piece or stick of wood. 
Nearly all the implements of labor are the same as those used in 
the days of Abraham. This is especially true of middle and south- 
ern Palestine. In the northern part near Haifa there is a German 
colony, which has introduced cheap McCormick reapers and mow- 
ers, which they buy for a hundred dollars each. They have also 
substituted wagons for camels and donkeys as a means of trans- 
porting merchandise and produce. Both Jews and Germans are 
organizing colonies in various localities. Mr. Rothschild, the 
millionaire, has established several Jewish colonies and furnished 
money to them. 

PEOPLE OF MODERN PALESTINE. 

Four distinct elements constitute the population of modern 
Palestine, viz. : Syrians, Arabs, Jews and Europeans. Of the 
last-named there are comparatively few. Some are employed in 
keeping hotels, conducting tourist agencies and in merchandis- 
ing. There are also many of them, notably^ the priests, engaged in 
religious work, and others in hospitals and hospices. The Syrians 
are a bright, up-to-date people, of about the color of an American 
mulatto. They dress as do Americans, except that they invari- 
ably wear the red fez. They are the gay and festive, the debonair 
element, the young bloods and the old ones also. The Jews are 
quite clannish. They constitute half the population of Jerusalem, 
and have three other cities distinctly their own, Hebron in the 
south and Safed, the city set upon a hill that could not be hid, 
and Tiberias in the north. They wear long coats, long beard and 
long hair, are close bargainers and shrewd tradesmen. The 
Arabs are the laboring class, the stock raisers and the farmers. 
They are yellow and dark in complexion, long, lanky and solemn, 
28 



434 Around the World. 

and wear great coats which they wrap closely about them as they 
do handkerchiefs about their heads and faces in the hottest 
weather. They are the traditional Bedouins. They look quite 
warlike and dangerous as we meet them on horses or donkeys 
upon the highways; Many of them carry guns, why no one 
seems to know, as they have no use for them either for hunting 
game or for purposes of defense. Most of the people are very 
poor. Taxes are so burdensome as not only to prevent farming 
from being profitable, but to render it impossible to operate man- 
ufactories or engage in any commercial business upon a large 
scale. However, there are fewer beggars in Palestine than in any 
country we have visited. 

CESAREA, ATHLIT AND THE CRUSADERS. 

On our road to Haifa we pass not far from ancient Cesarea, 
once the capital of Judea, where Paul was imprisoned and made 
his memorable defense before Festus and Agrippa. It is now but 
a small and nearly deserted village upon the seashore, scarcely a 
relic of its former glory remaining. Further north stand the 
ruins of Athlit the seaport of the crusaders. The remnants of the 
great walls, churches and other buildings show it to have been 
magnificent in its day, but it is now only a melancholy wreck. 
Not only are the buildings in ruins, but the population has van- 
ished. Only a few wretched Bedouins dwelling in mud huts wan- 
der about in its deserted streets and through the corridors of its 
noble buildings. As solemnly and quietly it stands upon the sea, 
the wail of the winds and the beating of the waves sound like 
funeral dirges ever moaning their requiem to the strange relig- 
ions frenzy which for a century dominated the Holy Land and left 
an imi^ress which eight hundred years have not effaced. All over 



From Nablous to Nazareth. 435 

Palestine may be found the ruins of cities and churches erected by 
the crusaders. There is scarcely a spot of historic interest, es- 
pecially is there not a place sacred to Christianity where they 
have not left some memorial of their zeal and devotion. They 
had control of the Holy Land for a century and only surrendered 
it after a terrible sacrifice of life and money. At Athlit there 
still remains the splendid hall in which they held their last meet- 
ing before taking ship and finally abandoning the land for which 
they had sacrificed so much. As I wandered through it there 
came upon me a feeling of awe and reverence as it recalled the 
history and unhappy ending of this most remarkable movement 
for the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre and the glory of God. Al- 
though the crusaders failed they left a heritage of consecration 
scarcely paralleled. 

MOUNT CARMEL AND HAIFA. 

For ten or twelve miles we drove along the base of Mount Car- 
mel, celebrated in Holy Writ as the home of both Elijah and Eli- 
sha, and as having been the scene of the trial of strength between 
Elijah and the prophets of Baal in the presence of all Israel. No 
event in all ancient Biblical history was more dramatic or im- 
portant. None has been more doubted or ridiculed. But a visit 
to the spot reveals both its plausibility and its possibility. The 
time had arrived when it was necessary that the power of the 
Most High should be vindicated, when there should be tangible 
demonstration of who was God, Jehovah or Baal. The children of 
Israel were deserting the religion of Moses by millions. The 
Kings and their courts, the temples and places of worship, the 
priests and all the religious orders were being given over to 
idolatry. Only a splendid heroic demonstration could rescue the 



436 Around the World. 

true faith. The place selected was the highest point in central 
Palestine, overlooking the beautiful valley of Esdraelon where all 
Israel could gather to behold it. 

The victory of the prophet was complete and unanswerable. 
Like many other spots in Palestine it is a powerful vindication of 
the Bible narrative. The place of the sacrifice was at the southern 
extremity of the mountain summit. A Carmelite Roman Catholic 
church occupies it and is plainly visible for many miles. 

At the northern extremity of the mountain overlooking the 
Mediterranean is a Carmelite Monastery of the Roman Catholics, 
a very handsome building. Below it in the side of the mountain 
is a large cave now used as a Mohammedan mosque where Elisha 
is said to have had a school of the Prophets. 

In the valley below lies the beautiful modern village of Haifa, 
one of the three seaports of Palestine, Jaffa and Beirut being 
the other two. To the north and within view is the village of 
Acre upon the seashore, and farther north are Tyre with 8,000, 
and Sidon with 140,000 people. At the latter place is a boys' 
large boarding school^ Gerard Institute, under Rev. George A. 
Ford, D. D., which is doing a fine v/ork, and also a girls' school. 
This is a fertile and well-wooded country. Many orchards of figs 
and mulberry and olive may be found and the oak grows wild 
luxuriantly. 

NAZARETH. 

No place we visited in Palestine, not even Jerusalem, left a 
profounder impression than did Nazareth. The fact that in this 
isolated Jewish village dwelt for thirty years He who is the 
founder of our Christianity, who constantly increasing millions 
believe to have been the Lord from Heaven, and all who do not 



From Nablous to Nazareth. 437 

hold such beHef must admit to have been one of the greatest lead- 
ers and forces in history, this fact of itself makes the place 
most interesting, almost hallowed to Christians. But it has attrac- 
tions of a physical nature also. It contains about 10,000 people, 
nearly all Syrians and Arabs, most of them members of the Roman 
and Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. There are 
very fews Jews and not many Europeans. There are several 
church buildings belonging to these religious organizations. The 
Church Missionary Society, which operates under the church 
of England has a building and a church organization and a finely 
managed orphanage where some seventy girls are being trained. 
The Roman Catholics have a large school, the building for which 
is the most conspicuous and prominent in the city. The Rus- 
sians, Roman and German Catholics and English all have hos- 
pitals and day schools for boys and girls. 

ITS LOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS. 

The city is built upon the side of a mountain, in fact of tvv-o 
mountains, for it now straggles over a gorge into a second one 
from its ancient site. Its streets are narrow and rambling, and its 
buildings of one and two stories and of stone, most of them with 
flat roofs. The business quarter consists of little shops and bazars 
similar to those to be found in most Oriental cities. Nowhere we 
have been did there seem to be as many people working by hand, 
without the aid of machinery. There is said not to be a labor- 
saving device in the place. The Divine carpenter boy who wrought 
here for so many years seems to have so consecrated manual 
labor, that it has continued until this day. I took special interest 
in visiting the various shops where so much is being done by hand. 
It is the boast of the people that everything they use is made by 



438 Around the World. 

the hands of their own people, furniture, implements of a domes- 
tic or industrial nature, household utensils, in fact everything for 
personal daily use. I spent some time in a carpenter shop and in 
talking with the mechanic who was making with his ordinary 
tools a well carved piece of furniture. He was a skillful work- 
man, spoke English well and told me he was paid seventy-five 
cents a day for his work, which was above an average wage. 
From another shop I purchased a pocketknife made by the 
workman who sold it to me. 

SCENES OF THE SAVIOR's LIFE. 

There is one spot in the city which no doubt the Savior fre- 
quently visited. It is known as Mary's well and supplies almost 
the entire community with water. Gen. Lew Wallace gives a 
graphic description of it in Ben Hur. We lingered about it for 
some time, for we felt sure that we were upon ground that had 
been trodden by the Son of God. Women and children were con- 
tinually flocking to it and filling their jars with water. Some 
of the jars would contain several gallons, and these they carried 
away poised in a careened position upon their heads with a dex- 
terity hardly to be believed. The jar is not set flat, but poised 
on one edge upon the head, presumably to keep the water from 
splashing out. How the woman carries it in this position is a 
mystery. Upon the supposed site of Joseph's workshop where 
the Savior toiled is a Roman Catholic church. It is upon the side 
of the hill overlooking the valley upon the east. In the little 
church which covers the spot is a very fine picture of the Holy 
Family representing the boy, Jesus, at work and His mother and 
Joseph looking on in an admiring and wondering way. Recently 
there has been excavated the original pavement nearby and still 



From Nablous to Nazareth. 439 

further down in the earth have been found grottoes, which were 
evidently inhabited. Some think it probable that Joseph and Mary 
may have occupied one of these caves, and that the Son of God 
was not only born in a cave but lived in one. 

The Greek Catholics occupy what they claim to be the site of the 
synagogue, if not the identical synagogue, where Jesus once sat 
and taught the people from the prophet Esaias, and declared His 
Divine nature for which He was led by the crowd to a hill, now a 
part of the town, to be thrown over it. The room is 20x40 feet, 
has a raised platform at one end and is plainly furnished. 

The Greek orthodox have a church building which they claim 
occupies the place where the fountain of the city stood in the days 
of the Savior and from which He drank. 

BEAUTIFUL FOR SITUATION. 

The glory of Nazareth is its location. It is situated upon the 
Plain of Esdraelon, within view of Mounts Carmel and Hermon 
and Tabor and of the Mediterranean sea. Not only is the natural 
scenery noble and inspiring but there is not a part of the wide 
expanse of view that does not contain within itself a thrilling bit 
of Bible history. All this splendid, natural and historic panorama 
is in plain view from the hill back of Nazareth and no doubt the 
Child, the Boy, the Youth, the Man, who was to go hence upon 
His Divine mission not only often gazed upon and strolled amid 
these scenes, but received from them in His purely human nature 
much of the education, the poetry, the knowledge and the love 
of nature and of the world which shone forth so in His teachings 
and in His life. 



LV. 

THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON. 

Tiberias, Palestine, June 5, 1908. 
For the last of the six weeks spent in Palestine were reserved 
two of its places of greatest scenic beauty and historic interest, the 
Plain of Esdraelon and the Sea of Galilee. Nowhere in the 
world is there a spot of earth or a sheet of water of equal size 
hard by each other which so combine physical charm with fascina- 
ting and tender association. We spent a day on each. We rode 
over one and rowed over the other. We visited nearly every point 
of interest upon them and viewed all their features from so many 
positions that we think we took mental photographs which will 
be indelible. Our first view of the Plain of Esdraelon was just 
before entering Nazareth, and we were astonished as well as de- 
lighted. But we had a still better view of it from the hill north 
of Nazareth. As this was no doubt the spot from which the Sav- 
ior often beheld it there was a special pleasure and interest in 
studying it from there. 

THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON. 

The plain is forty miles long and extends from Mount Carmel 
on the west to the River Jordan on the east. It varies in width 
from ten to twenty miles. It is undulating and fertile and almost 
entirely planted in wheat which was being harvested. Fortunate- 
ly its beautiful surface has not been desecrated to any great de- 
gree by human enterprise or greed. Except that a 
railroad line runs through it, with one or two modern sta- 
tions, it is much as it was four thousand years ago. Even 
the wheat is cultivated with crude plows and oxen and reaped with 




OUR TURKISH GUARD, OUR CAMP AND OUR DRAGOMAN 



The Plain of Esdraelon. 441 

sickles as it was then. There are no modern cities, but the sites 
of the ancient ones are marked by miserable and squalid huts as 
if to give expression to the glory which has departed from them. 
No stream of water runs through the valley, but there are fre- 
quent fountains which pour forth cold and pure water in abun- 
dance, giving life to the thirsty soil and clothing its surface in 
perennial green. In traveling through Palestine one frequently 
finds these fountains of water, clear and sparkling, in the midst 
of arid plains and understands the better the significance of the 
symbolism of life and purity they are so often made to serve by 
the Savior and the Psalmist and the prophets. The water is from 
the melted snows in the mountains and is never failing. 

At the west end of the plain lies Mount Carmel and along both 
sides extend mountain ranges not of the gigantic proportions of 
the Rocky Mountains, but about two thousand feet in height and 
purple, hazy or covered with verdure. Near the center of the 
plain rises Mount Tabor, the most symmetrical mountain in Pal- 
estine, as our dragoman described it, looking like a plum pudding, 
2,000 feet in height, covered with green grass and trees and with 
a Catholic monastery and a few ruins upon its summit. From it 
can be had one of the finest views in Palestine, embracing the 
Mediterranean on the west, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan and the 
Mountains of Hauran and Gilead on the east and many miles to 
the north and south. To the north in plain view is the snow cov- 
ered summit of Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in Pales- 
tine, generally regarded the Mount of Transfiguration, although 
there be some who think that event took place on Mount Tabor. 
Scattered here and there on the mountain sides and also in the 
valley of Esdraelon may be seen villages, each one of historic in- 
terest. In fact you cannot look in any direction that there is not 
some place which recalls a thrilling event either ancient or modern. 



442 Around the World. 

HISTORIC SPOTS, 

The most conspicuous feature is the eastern brow of Mount 
Carmel, which is the west end of the plain. Upon it stands a 
CarmeHte monastery. This was the place where Elijah 
called down fire from Heaven upon the sacrifice and in 
the presence of all Israel put to shame and defeat the 
four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and destroyed 
them. It is in view of all the plain and the feat 
could have been witnessed by millions. Directly across the 
plain, twelve miles from Carmel and located upon an elevated 
point near the mountains, is the site of the ancient 
city of Jezreel. It will be remembered that Elijah cov- 
ered this distance on foot in front of the Chariot of 
Ahab. He was so flushed with pride and excitement after having 
overwhelmed the Baal prophets and brought rain to the earth that 
he felt equal to anything. But alas, when he got to Jezreel his 
leonine spirit forsook him in the presence of a woman. For when 
Jezebel, the awful queen of Ahab, shook her finger at him and 
told him that he would the next day be served as the prophets 
of Baal had been by him, he was so frightened that he ran south- 
ward for three hundred miles, never stopping until he reached 
southern Palestine, where it became necessary for an angel to re- 
store him to a normal condition. Some have been mean enough 
to say that he was not the only brave man who has similarly sur- 
rendered. 

JEZREEL, JEZEBEL, JEHU AND JEHORAM. 

If there is one filthier place than another it must be the an- 
cient city of Jezreel, the once proud capital of northern Israel, 
where dwelt in luxury and reveled in wealth and power Ahab 



The Plain of Esdraelon. 443 

and Jezebel, the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of ancient history. 
The curse of the Almighty pronounced by His prophets of 
old still rests upon it. We rode through its vile streets, the abode 
of wretched and half-naked Bedouins, and goats and sheep and 
•donkeys and dogs, all living practically together beneath sheds 
or in mud houses. From the spot where stood the watch-tower 
upon its highest point, described in Scripture, we had a magni- 
iicent view of the valley and the surrounding mountains. Within 
a few minutes we obtained a better knowledge of ancient Biblical 
liistory than all of our reading of it had afforded. To the west 
lay Megiddo where was fought the celebrated battle between the 
Egyptians under Pharaoh Necho and King Josiah as recorded in 
Second Kings, 23d chapter. To the south was Mount Gilboa, 
where Saul, after his tempestuous life of failure, fell upon his 
sword and died, and where his son Jonathan also was slain. Just 
■across the valley stood Little Hermon where were gathered the 
hosts of Philistines whose formidable and powerful appearance 
had so frightened the unhappy Saul, deserted by Jehovah, that he 
sought counsel at night from the witch of Endor. Upon the 
farther side of the mountain is the village of Endor marking the 
site of his interview with the female conjurer of familiar spirits 
the night before he met his unhappy end. Nothing in all history 
is more uncanny and ghostly than Saul's interview with the spirit 
of Samuel at Endor the night before his death. 

To the east of the city, adjoining and just below it is a plateau 
of ground, where must have been Naboth's vineyard, upon whose 
possession Ahab set his avaricious and envious eyes, and which 
having not the courage to take possession of his more resolute 
and conscienceless queen took for him after having slain the own- 
er. Still farther east and extending many miles towards the Jor- 



444 Around the World. 

dan is yet a 'broad roadway. It was up this road that the watch- 
man on the tower descried Jehu driving furiously, as he came 
upon his mission of vengeance from Ramoth-Gilead where he had 
been anointed King. In imagination we could see King Ahaziah 
of Judah and King Jehoram of Israel as they sallied forth to 
meet him, apprehensive, but anxious to appease him. We could 
imagine his fierce and fatal plunge of his sword into the side of 
Jehoram and the flinging of the lifeless body into the Naboth vine- 
yards, while the hapless King of Judah fled wounded into the 
city and thence to Megiddo to die there. We were standing near, 
probably upon the spot where Jehu stopped upon his entrance to 
the city when he turned his eyes upward and beheld Jezebel look- 
ing from a window, and from which her body by his command 
was thrown down to be eaten by the dogs. All these and other 
thrilling events troop up in vivid succession as one stands upon 
this spot, than which none in all the history of Israel calls up 
more tragic memories. 

Gideon's fountain. 

It was only a few miles east of Jezreel and in plain view of that 
city that Gideon, with his three hundred intrepid followers armed 
only with pitchers and lamps and trumpets put to flight the hosts 
of Midian and relieved Israel of its long and terrible oppression. 
Out of a cave near there gushes what was known then as Herod's 
well, but is now called Gideon's Fountain. A flood 
of cold, pure water pours forth refreshing and irrigat- 
ing the plain for many miles, and near its source flow- 
ing over a rocky bottom is a wide, but shallow stream. 
A man and his wife were wading it as we came to it. It is less 
than knee deep. We could understand how easy it was for 



The Plain of Esdraelon. 445 

soldiers without breaking ranks to bring the water to their mouths 
with their hands and "lap like dogs," as they walked instead of 
stopping to lie down to drink. The water is not only clear and 
pure, but full of fish. 

SHUNEM AND NAIN. 

Crossing the plain from Gideon's fountain we pass the foun- 
tain of Jezreel, whence the city obtained its water. A few miles 
to the south we reach upon another eminence in the plain, the an- 
cient town of Shunem, .surrounded by fruit trees, but squalid and 
dirty as Jezreel. This is where the prophet Elisha was graciously 
entertained by a hospitable woman who always kept a guest cham- 
ber at his service. It is in plain view of and some ten miles from 
Carmel. When her son had died from sunstroke it was there that 
she went in quest of the prophet. Any one who rides across the 
Plain of Esdraelon in summer as we did can understand how pos- 
sible it would be to be similarly stricken. We ourselves lay under 
the shade of a fig tree in Shunem at noonday for several hours to 
escape its heat. It will also be recalled how that Elisha came in 
response to her call and restored her son to life, thus everlastingly 
indicating to all women the virtue and wisdom of hospitality, 
especially to preachers. 

On the south side of Little Hermon some eight or ten miles, and 
around the mountain from Shunem lies the city of Nain, A Cath- 
olic church marks the spot where our Lord is said to have restored 
the widow's son to life. It is a small village of Arab huts. Hence 
within a few hours we were upon two spots where the greatest 
of all miracles had been performed, the restoration of the dead 
to life, in both cases of sons of widows. 



446 Around the World. 

napoleon's victory. 

In the center of the Plain of Esdraelon in 1799 Napoleon had 
a great battle with the Turks, defeating 25,000 of the latter with 
but a small force of 1,500 of his own troops. Thus this little plain 
has been the scene of many of the most remarkable events, human 
and superhuman, in the history of the world. 

FROM NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS. 

It is about twenty miles eastward from Nazareth to Tiberias 
upon the Sea of Galilee. There is a fine carriage road through 
a region nearly all mountainous. A few miles east of Nazareth 
is passed Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned the water into 
wine at a wedding feast. It is a small village in a fertile valley. 
We are shown the spring from which it is claimed the water was 
taken. The Roman and Greek Catholics have churches alongside 
each other, each claiming to be upon the site of the feast, and each 
having jars which they represent as having held the water which 
"saw its God and blushed." 

Near Tiberias we pass to the right of a not very sightly emin- 
ence which is said to be the Mount of Beatitudes, where was 
delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It is called the Horns of 
Hattin and commands a fine view of the Sea of Galilee and the 
surrounding country. It may or may not be the site where the 
sermon was spoken. The claim is purely traditional. 



LVL 
THE SEA OF GALILEE AND SYRIA. 

Beirut, Syria, June 13, 1908. 
The first view of the Sea of Galilee is disappointing. It is over 
nine hundred feet below the sea level and the descent to it is 
abrupt. We had imagined it in a valley with considerable distance 
between its shores and the mountains. But the latter descend al- 
most precipitously to it upon the east and west. They slope down 
to it from the north. There are recesses on the shores upon both 
sides sufficient for cities of smaller size. I remembered to have 
read in Josephus that in his days there were over two hundred 
cities around it. This led me to look for a large area adjoining 
its shores, for the remains of cities and for quite a teeming popu- 
lation. My disappointment was considerable when only one city 
could be observed, that of Tiberias, while the sea did not seem 
large enough for but a limited number upon its shores, not a dozen 
even if every level spot were occupied. Either Josephus was mis- 
taken or he must have included in his estimate all the cities upon 
the adjacent mountains for many miles around. 

ITS SIZE, APPEARANCE AND ENVIRONS. 

The sea is simply a widening of the River Jordan to six miles 
for a distance of fourteen miles when it contracts again into its 
ordinary channel and pursues its course to the Dead Sea. In 
other words the river broadens until it fills the space between the 
mountains and forms a lake six by fourteen miles. The water is 
clear and under certain reflections of the sun from the mountains 
assumes a beautiful coloring of green or blue. Ordinarily it is 
calm, but is easily lashed by the winds into turbulence and its 

(447) 



448 Around the World. 

"squalls" come without warning. It is full of fish which are serv- 
ed at the hotels at Tiberias and are of delightful flavor. They 
are caught by nets as in the days of Christ and most of them are 
of small size. Of all the great population that once swarmed upon 
the shores of Galilee, the city of Tiberias and the village of Mag- 
dala alone remain. Tiberias contains about 4,ocx3 people, nearly 
all Jews, and is located about midway of the lake upon the west 
shore. Its streets are crooked and dirty. The houses have flat 
tops, and the people sleep upon the roofs. Many of them have 
straw booths upon their roofs under which the beds are placed. 
We discovered the wisdom of this method of living after one 
night's experience. We found the room in which we slept, al- 
though the windows were open, so stuffy and close that we could 
not sleep but an hour or two. The next night we tried the front 
porch under the open sky and slept the night through without in- 
terruption. Besides there is a little sandfly that tortures one so 
as to render sleep impossible under roof but which the wind blows 
aways upon the outside. Owing to its low elevation it is quite 
warm at Tiberias when it is cool upon the adjacent mountains. 

PLACES OF BIBLE INTEREST. 

With no spot is the name of the Savior more closely associated 
than with the sea of Galilee. Here He loved to linger with His 
disciples. Upon its shores the multitudes gathered to listen to His 
teachings, to witness His miracles, to be healed of diseases, or to 
be miraculously fed when they were hungry. When driven from 
His own home at Nazareth upon its shores He had His home. 
Upon its waters He walked and when they were angry He stilled 
them, and at His command they yielded its fishes to the nets of 
His apostles. There was something about the sequestered and 



The Sea of Galilee and Syria. 449 

quiet retreat in the mountains of this beautiful lake, of its gentle 
winds and its blue and placid surface that found a responsive sym- 
pathy in the heart and life of the tender Christ. Every spot upon 
it therefore possesses an interest and a charm. Of these 
there is not one which so engages the visitor as Capernaum. Here 
is where He lived and taught and wrought most of His miracles. 
Its site is believed to have been reliably fixed at the northern end 
of the lake about midway between the eastern and western shores. 
Within the past two years a beautiful synagogue has been exhum- 
ed. It is of handsome architecture evidently erected during the Ro- 
man period, and by some supposed to be the one built by the Cen- 
turion mentioned in the seventh chapter of Luke. It is 60x90 feet 
and has three entrances. There is a portico in front 10x60 feet. 
Two rows of pillars 39 inches in diameter inclose the auditorium 
which is 35x65 feet. The pillars are ten feet from the walls. Out- 
side of them and entirely around the auditorium is a corridor. 
The pillars are adorned with Corinthian and Doric capitals. The 
building has been excavated by the Francescan monks of the Ro- 
man Catholic church who intend to re-erect and restore it accord- 
ing to its original plan. Apparently Capernaum was a very small 
place. But recently ruins have been discovered to the north of 
it which indicate the size to be greater than it has been hitherto 
regarded. The site of the city is the finest on the lake, command- 
ing a full view of all parts of it and being at the terminus of a 
gentle slope from the mountain. 

BETHSAIDA, CHORAZIN^ MAGDALA. 

The site of Bethsaida is in some doubt. But modern scholars 

are inclmed to fix it to the west of Capernaum upon the shore of 

the lake where some ruins have been discovered. Bethsaida 
29 



450 Around the World. 

Julius is thought to have been a distinct city and is located to the 
east of the Jordan at the northeast corner of the lake. Near the 
latter place is thought to be the spot where were fed the five thou- 
sand, although there are many who incline to the view that the 
site was near the northwest corner of the lake. The site of Cho- 
razin has been determined to be several miles north of that of 
Capernaum. There are the ruins there of a synagogue of black 
mar^ble. Fortunately, none of these sacred sites have been occu- 
pied for commercial purposes, but have been left free for future 
exploration. Whatever may be the objections held by those of 
differing views to the Roman Catholics it can be said to their 
credit that they have carefully protected these sites all over Pales- 
tine, and have expended much labor and money in exploring them. 
The fact that Palestine presents no special inducements to the 
wealth-seekers, has no mineral and but little agricultural or man- 
ufacturing possibilities also is a providential provision which has 
arrested the hand of enterprise from despoiling and obliterating 
places which must be of tender sacredness to Christians. While 
the worship of material things and places is a danger which may 
come to those whose religion is based largely upon ignorance or 
superstitions, there can be only an exaltation of sentiment and 
deepening of spiritual attachment in a close and conscious ac- 
quaintance with those places which we know the founder of our 
faith hallowed by His presence. 

RAILROADS IN SYRIA. 

After six weeks' stay in Palestine in which we had traveled 
over six hundred miles over the country, nearly two-thirds of 
which had been by horseback, we took the train at the southern 
shore of the sea of Galilee, several miles south of Tiberias for our 



The Sea of Galilee and Syria. 451 

final journey through Syria to embarkation from Beirut a week 
later. The railroad runs from Haifa upon the west coast to 
Damascus, a distance of three hundred miles, or rather it taps east 
of the Jordan a line twelve hundred miles in length which the 
Turkish government is building from Damascus to Mecca. The 
branch through Palestine has been built about eight years, but 
has been carrying passengers only three years. The main line 
has a fine roadbed and is well equipped and managed. It runs 
from Damascus to Beirut. There is a branch between the two 
latter places to Aleppo which is not far from ancient Palmyra. 
An extension of this branch to Bagdad is being agitated. It will 
probably be built within five years. This will then make it pos- 
sible to reach ancient Babylon by rail, possibly without changing 
cars from Paris, France. The trip from Tiberias is for many 
miles up the Yarmuk river, a dashing mountain stream lined with 
oleanders in full bloom. Afterwards it reaches a broad plateau 
occupied with great wheat fields, while much of the journey is 
through a tenantless desert. 

DAMASCUS. 

In our travels around we have come across several cities which 
claim the honor of being the oldest in the world. But if the earl- 
iest city mentioned in the Bible entitles one of them to precedence 
the palm must be given to Damascus, for in the second verse of 
the fifteenth chapter of Genesis we find distinct reference made to 
Damascus as the city where Abraham refers to his steward, 
Eliezer, as being a resident. Frequently is it referred 
to in both the Old and New Testaments down to the time when 
it received its greatest fame as being the scene of Paul's con- 
version to Christianity. Although always the most important 



452 Around the World. 

commercial point in the vast region surrounding it seldom if ever 
was it destroyed in war. It is now in most of its characteristics 
as it has been from the days of Abraham. Its buildings, its shops 
and bazars, its methods of trade and its people have changed but 
little. There are few cities which have so retained ancient con- 
ditions or where they can be studied in such life-like distinctness. 

POPULATION, LOCATION AND APPEARANCE. 

Its present population is about 200,000. Most of its streets 
are wide. It has electric light and tramways, but no sidewalks, 
and so far as we have observed is the filthiest city in the world, as 
well as the most perilous to wayfarers. Both man and beast 
have equal liberty of the streets which are rarely if ever cleaned, 
although the beautiful Arbana river dashes its swift mountain 
current of pure water through the heart of the city. Nowhere 
have we seen such reckless driving or riding or jostling by pe- 
destrians. He who perambulates the streets takes his life in his 
hands. The horses are the finest we have seen anywhere except in 
Manila and Cairo, and are ridden and driven furiously. The 
babel of noise, of shouting and yelling is almost unbearable. The 
business section is divided into quarters, each one being for cer- 
tain branches of business. The finest rugs and carpets in the 
world are to be found here, and some of the most beautiful brass. 
Everything is made by hand, labor saving machinery being scarce, 
but the prices paid for labor is higher than in any Oriental city we 
have been. The population is nearly all Mohammedan, there 
being three hundred mosques, the largest of which is one of 
the finest in the world. The city lies in a beautiful valley^ cov- 
ered with green trees, the result of irrigation from the Arbana 
and Pharpar rivers, those of which Naaman boasted, and the 



The Sea of Galilee and Syria. 453 

view from the neighboring mountain is magnificent, so much so 
that it is related of Mahomet that having beheld it he declared he 
would not visit the city for fear it would dissatisfy him with 
Paradise. The climate is cooler than in Palestine, and much 
sought 'by invalids. Practically every variety of fruit and veg- 
etables, as well as all kinds of flowers are grown while the trees 
are vocal with the songs of birds. Nowhere have we seen purer 
water, sweeter flowers, balmier air, brighter sunshine^ more de- 
licious fruit or in matters of trade smarter people. 

SOME ATTR/VCTIONS. 

Nothing is more interesting than a visit to some of the private 
homes and to study the magnificence of their architecture and 
the luxuriance of their living. The handicraft of Damascus is 
famed the world over, and it has been turned to profitable ac- 
count by many shrewd tradesmen, who have become princely in 
wealth. 

The street called "Straight" is here now as in the days of Paul, 
but is much narrower, and it is arched over as are many streets.. 

The house in which Naaman the Syrian lived is to be seen as is 
also the place where St. Paul was let down over the wall by the 
disciples and the house of Ananias wdiere he was brought after his 
conversion. 

BAALBECK. 

From Damascus we journeyed by rail to Baalbeck where are 
to be found the splendid ruins of the temple of Jupiter and the 
Sun, hardly surpassed by any in the world. It covers an area 
of eleven acres, has single stones of the enormous length of 
seventy feet and width of fourteen, columns of beautiful architec- 



454 Around the World. 

ture sixty feet long in great quantity. The temple was built in 
the first three centuries after Christ and is modeled after Sol- 
omon's and Herod's temple. It was built by the Romans, but 
construction was stopped by Constantine. It was used by the 
Arabs for several centuries as a fortress and was destroyed by 
both Moslems and Christians. There are also temples of Bacchus 
and Venus adjoining. 

FROM BAALBECK TO BEIRUT. 

The railroad trip from Baalbeck to Beirut will compare in 
beauty of scenery favorably to that in Switzerland, which it 
much resembles. As we near Beirut we are astonished at the 
sublimity of the mountain scenery and the prodigal profusion of 
newly improved villages which are scattered over the mountains 
as if emptied from a pepperbox. They are in such contrast with 
the plain and crude villages of mud and stone we have seen in 
Palestine and elsewhere that we inquire the reason, and are in- 
formed that both the ideas and money which constructed them 
came from America where it is said over a hundred thousand 
Syrians have gone in late years. Many have returned with wealth 
which they are thus expending in their native land, 

Beirut is a flourishing seaport city of over 130,000. There is 
here located what is claimed to be the largest mission Protestant 
college in the world. It is 42 years old, has 878 students, 68 in- 
structors, seven departments, fifteen splendid buildings, covers 40 
acres of ground and has a library of 20,000 volumes. It is op- 
erated by the Presbyterian church of America, and was largely 
founded by the late W. E. Dodge and Morris K. Jesup. 

From this place we take ship for Constantinople. Thence we 
go to Athens, whence after a week's stay we hope to sail for 
"home, sweet home," as rapidly as the boats and the trains will 
carry us. 



TURKEY AND GREECE. 



LVIL 

THE TURK, HIS COUNTRY AND HIS RULER. 

Constantinople, June 20, 1908. 
I must speak a work for the unspeakable Turk. The term 
"unspeakable" as applied to him is intended to mean intensely 
unbearable or inexpressibly outrageous. I have spent eight 
weeks and traveled some two thousand miles in his dominions. I 
have encountered him in his capacity as soldier, civil official, bus- 
iness man, farmer, day laborer, have come in contact with him 
by the thousand and even million and have studied him from 
many viewpoints. Besides I have talked with Americans, officials 
and others, who have had dealings with him, in fact have had 
transactions to some extent with him myself. I think I am pre- 
pared to pass just judgment upon him. And that judgment does 
not corroborate the term ''unspeakable." So far as I can estimate 
him he is no worse than other Orientals. In some respects he is 
better. He is more respectable in his personal life than the Jap- 
anese or Chinese or the inhabitants of India. He wears clothes 
all over his body and is decent and modest. With the exception 
of the red fez he dresses as do Europeans or Americans. In 
his habits and his home and in the streets of his large cities like 
Smyrna and Constantinople he is cleanlier than are any of the 
other Asiatics. He is sober, industrious and honest. His Mo- 
hammedan religion requires him to be temperate. He works per- 
petually. So far as can be judged he is reliable in matters of 
trade. He is not a good business man and he spends money 
prodigally but will pay his debts if he can. 

(457) 



458 Around the World. 

OFFICIALLY CORRUPT. 

The official service of the country is corrupt. It is wretchedly 
organized. There is no legislative body^ hence no well formulated 
laws, and no definite imposition of responsibility. Small salaries 
are paid, and every official understands that he is at liberty, is 
expected to make all he can out of his job. Taxation is exces- 
sive, not upon business, but upon land and products of the soil. 
This keeps the farming population poor and necessarily all other 
branches of business suffer. On account of the inefficient and 
dishonest civil service the country is in debt and has a hard time 
getting along. 

THE SULTAN. 

More than in any nation of equal size the governmental power 
centers in the monarch. Even the Empress Dowager of China 
has not such absolute authority. For she relies upon her min- 
isters and has but nominal control of the weakly confederated 
provinces of her kingdom. But in Turkey the Sultan both makes 
and executes the laws. It is true that he has a council of min- 
isters, who are supposed to aid him, but with him the situation is 
reversed from that in China, for the ministers are nominal and he 
is the real thing. It is said that he is more and more taking all 
the reins into his own hands, while his ministers are largely fig- 
ureheads. No other monarch in the world is said to have such 
personal supervision of ail the details of his government. The 
popular idea that he is a self-indulgent, indolent, incapable weak- 
ling who divides his time between the harem and the luxuries of 
his court is an error. He is the hardest worked sovereign in 
the world and in many respects the cleverest. His knowledge of 
contemporaneous affairs is said to be something remarkable. He 



The Unspeakable Turk. 459 

not only rules over Turkey in Europe, containing 66,000 square 
miles and six million population, but Turkey in Asia covering 
680,000 square miles and his possessions in Africa, embracing 
399,000 square miles, having in all a population of 25,000,000. He 
personally appoints every official, big and little, for all this vast 
kingdom, settles many of their disputes, and is the responsible 
source of the laws which govern them. Every dollar of money 
expended for the government is by his direction. Hfe is the head 
of the army and navy and the final authority of his government 
in all international affairs. Besides having direct control over all 
these vast possessions he has a suzerainty over Bulgaria, Bosnia, 
Herzegovina, Crete, Cyprus, Samos and Egypt. That one man 
in these modern days of personal liberty and independence should 
have such enormous power seems almost incredible. To exercise 
it he must be no ordinary person. His familiarity with the de- 
tails of all the petty offices and officials of his vast possessions is 
remarkable. He is said to be well posted in world-wide affairs. 

HIS PERSONAL LIFE. 

The personality of no ruler in the world is veiled in such mys- 
tery or invested with such interest. Right in Constantinople there 
is nearly as much ignorance concerning him as there is anywhere. 
But few ever see him, or know anything of his personal habits. 
Hence, there are all sorts of wild and reckless stories about him. 
He is reported to have a thousand wives, to poison people at his 
table, and to direct the clandestine murder or exile of officials who 
have incurred his enmity. There are many like stories. None of 
them are true. He never leaves his palace grounds except to at- 
tend services at the Mohammedan mosque on Friday, where a 
large body of his troops is called out to guard him as he rides 



460 Around the World. 

for five or ten minutes to the mosque. Two years ago a bomb 
was thrown at his carriage. Since that time he has kept himself 
in strict seclusion and has adopted extraordinary methods for his 
protection. Few ever see him. He is sixty-six years of age, and 
has been upon the throne thirty-two years. He is stoutly built, 
about five feet six inches in height, is quite magnetic in manner, 
is an attentive listener, enjoys a good story, and will slap a man 
whom he likes upon the back. He eats on gold plates and with his 
fingers when no foreigners are around, helping himself out of a 
big dish in the center of the table. He has one or two favorite 
wives who live with him in his palace. How many other wives he 
has no one seems to know. The number is probably much exag- 
gerated. We were shown a long palace on the Bosphorus, the 
home of the former Sultan, which we were told was the harem, 
or the abode of the present Sultan's wives. The building is big 
enough to hold several hundred. But although it was a hot day 
the windows were down and there was no sign of life about it. 
If there were any women in it they did not care for fresh air or 
were in cold storage and were without that presumably indispen- 
sable feminine attribute, curiosity. He is said to take a new wife 
every year. She is selected by his mother and the wedding is a 
solemn religious ceremony. We are inclined to think the Sultan 
is too old and busy to bother himself with all the hundreds of 
wives he is charged with. 

HIS PALACE AND HIS FANCIES. 

The palace is situated in the midst of a large grove of many 
acres upon a high hill in Constantinople overlooking the Bos- 
phorus. It has walks and fountains and flowers and lakes with 
electric launches and is a kind of dream or paradise so to speak. 



The Unspeakable Turk. 461 

It is surrounded by a high wall. There is also said to be a the- 
ater, one or two manufactories and a kind of little Avorld within 
itself inside the palace grounds. The palace is lighted with elec- 
tric light, and there are stored within it twelve automobiles. But 
the Sultan will not allow electric light, automobiles or telephones 
in the city of Constantinople. Why he forbids them is not known, 
unless he fears they might in some way provide facilities for his 
assassination. There is much discontent and murmuring against 
him on account of these foolish prohibitions. 

FROM BEIRUT TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 

We had four days' delightful sail along the shores of Asia Minor 
from Beirut to Constantinople. The route was almost the same 
as that taken by St. Paul upon his missionary journeys. There 
is much along it to recall the great apostle and his wonderful 
achievement in carrying the gospel to the Gentiles. We passed 
not far from Tarsus, where he was born, and parallel and but a 
short distance from the tour he made when he organized the seven 
churches of Asia. We almost touched the isle of Cyprus, where 
he began his ministry, and was probably renamed. At the isle 
of Samos, where we lay nearly a whole day, we were nearly in 
sight of Ephesus, which to our deep regret we could not visit. 
Extensive excavations have recently been made there, revealing 
the great theater where Paul faced his accusers and some re- 
mains of the Temple of Diana, besides many other buildings 
which illustrate the wonderful architecture of that period. 

At Samos, there had been but two weeks hitherto a violent re- 
bellion, in which many shots had been fired and some people 
killed, and it was not regarded safe to venture far from the ship. 
We also passed within sight of the isle of Patmos, where John 



462 Around the World. 

had his wonderful vision, but we could not stop there. The 
scenery along the shore is mountainous. Smyrna at the west end 
of Asia Minor is a city of over 300,000. We spent a day visit- 
ing it and were struck with its modern appearance and 
commercial prosperity. We visited the tomb of Polycarp, 
the site of the ancient Roman theater in which he 
was slain and saw the finest aqueducts of the Roman 
period we have observed anywhere. There are excellent Ameri- 
can schools for boys and girls. The International College for 
boys is under the control of an American board located at Boston. 
It is non-sectarian, but Christian. It was founded in 1903, and 
has 336 students and twenty-four teachers. It has a good build- 
ing, a fine course of study and is evidently doing excellent work. 
Many European and -Axnerican colleges are being established in 
Turkey. Western learning is taking hold. 

THE WATERWAYS TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 

After passing Smyrna we cross the Aegean Sea, and then enter 
the Dardanelles, a long narrow strait, which connects the Aegean 
with the sea of Marmora. Mountains clothed in green, dotted 
with occasional villages rise upon either side. We are reminded 
that we are not far from the site of ancient Troy. Something 
about the blue and placid waters and the adjacent mountains sug- 
gests the many scenes of classic days which were enacted upon 
their surface. After crossing the sea of Marmora we reach at the 
port of Constantinople, the bay of the Bosphorus about twenty 
miles long and six miles wide and which connects the sea of Mar- 
mora with the Black Sea. 



The Unspeakable Turk. 463 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

No city in the world, so far as we know^ has a so attractive 
waterfront as Constantinople. As it lies upon the adjacent moun- 
tains for some twenty miles along the beautiful Bosphorus, its 
numberless mosque domes and minarets, its palaces and public 
buildings and its vast area of business houses and residences, and 
its thousands of ships in its capacious harbor, it presents a scene 
of inspiring beauty and splendid proportions which enthrall the 
beholder and photograph themselves upon his memory. It has a 
population of over a million, has street cars, crowded ferry boats, 
continually swarming its harbors, streets thronged with people, 
bazars and shops and stores, bustling business and all the aspects 
of a great city. It is the busiest and most up-to-date city we 
have seen in the Orient. If the Sultan would let it do so it 
would rival Paris and London. 

It has good streets and many large four to six story buildings. 
Evidently it is doing a large trade. Its population is mostly 
Turk and Mohammedan, although there are many of all other 
nationaHties, and the community is cosmopolitan. About the city 
there is the atmosphere of prosperity. There are not many beggars 
upon the streets and most of the people move about as if they had 
ideas and purposes in their heads. The most offensive sight is 
that of the dogs which lie asleep by the hundred along the streets, 
and let you stumble over them without awakening. They are city 
scavengers and have been fixtures and landmarks for ages. The 
horses are the largest and finest we have seen anywhere. They 
are from Hungary and are unusually large, finely proportioned 
and of active movement. They are the only horses we have seen 
which we regard superior to American horses. 



464 Around the World. 

MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUES HOWLING DERVISHES. 

The most attractive buildings and the chief institutions of the 
city are the Mohammedan mosques. They are very numerous 
and the architecture of some of them is fine, that of St. Sophia 
being the most noteworthy. Many of them are ancient. The 
Mohammedans rehgiously are an improvement upon the Bud- 
dhists or Hindus, for they are not idolators and they believe in one 
God. But they are narrow, fanatical and ignorant and their 
worst practice is that of polygamy and concubinage and the depre- 
ciation of woman. But they are showing evidences of improve- 
ment in their treatment of women and also in a more favorable at- 
titude to education. 

There are various sects among Mohammedans as among Christ- 
ians, but the most extreme one is that of the Howling or Whirling 
Dervishes. They hold a service every Friday. We attended one 
of them. They sing plaintive songs and go on somewhat as ne- 
groes did in the old days at camp meetings. Some of them sat on 
the ground singing in a frantic, wailing manner^ and rocking 
themselves to and fro. Some ten or twelve stood in line, caught 
hold of each other's hands and swayed their bodies backward 
and forward, grunting as I have heard negroes, when wielding an 
axe. They kept this up until perspiration poured from them and 
they became so excited that they would leap up and shout and 
throw themselves into all sorts of contortions. One of them^ a 
big negro, black as tar, colonel of a Turkish regiment, broke 
loose from the line, gave a yell and butted his head against a 
post. The crowd thought he had gone crazy and started a stam- 
pede. But the blow seemed to daze him and he sat down. 

Several lay down and the priest walked on them. Among them 
was a child about ten years old. This ceremony is thought to re- 



The Unspeakable Turk. 465 

lieve them of both physical and spiritual ills. In some localities 
they cut themselves with knives and have been known to kill 
themselves. A gentleman told me that but recently he attended 
one of their performances in which they lacerated themselves 
terribly, and one man apparently, if not actually, ran a sword into 
his stomach. The Sultan has forbidden this sort of thing in Con- 
stantinople. Another favorite practice is to whirl around for 
hours until they fall from exhaustion. 

NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The National Museum at Constantinople has one of the finest 
collections of ancient statuary and architecture to be found any- 
where. Much of it is from Palestine, the most notable being from 
Sidon. There is shown in perfect state a reputed sarcopha- 
gus of Alexander the Great. It is a wonderful piece of work, 
but while it may have been made for him it is not probable that 
his body ever occupied it. The remains of ancient art in the 
museum indicate a high order of civilization in Palestine about 
the time and previous to the Christian era. 

ITS NEEDS. 

A representative government, education and Christianity. 
These are the three needs of Turkey. She is ready for them all 
and waiting. No nation is in riper condition for them. As soon 
as she has them, as she will before many years, she will take her 
place with the great nations of the world. 

Since the above was written the people have risen and de- 
manded constitutional government which the Sultan has con- 
ditionally granted them. Later still he has been deposed. The 
time cannot be far distant before the governmental conditions of 
a people so enterprising and intelligent must be improved. 
31 



LVIII. 

GREECE. 

Athens, Greece, June 25, 1908. 
Classic Greece ! You begin to feel the influence of her history 
and her presence even before you land upon her shores. There is 
something about the blue and placid waters of the Aegean Sea, 
and the vari-colored mountains which line her shores and are 
reflected in her depths, something about the gentle tremulous at- 
mosphere whose purple veil hangs with graceful charm over all 
the adjacent scenery, something in the ruins of ancient temples, 
the melancholy columns, which stand like sentinels upon the 
mountains to tell the story of her vanished glory, there is that in 
all these to remind us that we are nearing the little island which 
has contributed more to literature, to heroism, to jurisprudence, to 
philosophy and to art than has any other country in the history of 
the world. Like Palestine, the events which will ever make its 
name glorious, are twenty centuries agone, and the memorials of 
them as wrought by human hands have either crumbled, or are 
buried, or faded, or broken. But like the Holy Land its moun- 
tains and valleys, its lakes and rivers and ocean are there now as 
then and in their marvelous beauty express a truth as wide and as 
old as the human race. That truth is that the highest achieve- 
ments of genius, the loftiest expressions of human thought or 
character, or virtue, or of divine revelation have ever had con- 
genial setting or inspiration in the beauty and majesty of the 
natural scenery which surrounded them. As in Palestine so in 
Greece no one can review its charming scenery, its mountains and 
valleys, and waters, without feeling that it was a fitting theater 
for the events which have made it glorious, and is the deserving 

(466) 



Greece. 467 

birthplace of the many remarkable men whose names were to be 
household words to all ages. 

ITS SIZE^ APPEARANCE AND GOVERNMENT. 

Greece covers but 22,000 square miles, one-third the area of the 
State of Missouri, and has a population of but little over two 
millions, most of it native. The larger part of the country is 
mountainous and uninhabitable. But the valleys are very fertile 
and beautiful. The country is well watered both by the inlets 
from the ocean which wind in and out, and by numerous springs 
and rivers and lakes. Olives, grapes, lemons, oranges, all the 
fruits of the latitude and all the vegetables are produced in 
abundance. We have seen more Indian corn growing in Greece 
than in any country since we left America. Farming is a fairly 
profitable business. 

The country is well supplied with railroads, and its insular 
position makes it accessible to the ocean from all directions. The 
people in all avocations bear the indications of prosperity. 

There is a nominal king. The government is fully as demo- 
cratic as that of England. The parliament is elected by the peo- 
ple, and has practically supreme authority. A cabinet of min- 
isters manages the different executive branches successfully. 
Governmental affairs are apparently in a healthful condition^ more 
so than in Turkey. There is an efficient judicial system. 

There is a fair system of schools, better than in most Oriental 
countries, that is if this may be called Oriental. In Athens is a uni- 
versity and many high schools and academies may be found 
throughout the kingdom. The people have an air of intelligence. 
They dress as do Americans, and look not unlike all the Latin 
races. 



468 Around the World. 

In religion most of those who belong to any church are Greek 
orthodox. There are no Mohammedans^ and not many Catholics, 
and still fewer Protestants. Many are free thinkers. The mor- 
als of the people are not bad. There is no polygamy as in Turkey 
and but little intemperance. 

ATHENS. 

As of old, Athens is the capital and the dominating element in 
the kingdom. It contains about 200,000 people and is the clean- 
est and best paved city we have seen. The streets are broad and 
of asphalt and the sidewalks of granitoid. It does not have 
the little bazars and shops as in Constantinople and Damascus, 
but large W'ell arranged stores and offices and banks and looks in 
most respects like an up-to-date American city. Its hotels are pro- 
vided with elevators and electric lights and are well managed. A 
beautiful park is near the center of the city in which the people 
gather by the thousands in the evenings and a band plays excellent 
music until midnight. It has been quite hot during our stay here, 
so much so as to make it unsafe to go out of doors in the middle 
of the day. Between 10 a. m. and 3 130 p. m. many of the principal 
business houses close, and at night the people seek the parks to 
get cool. No better dressed, or more intelligently appearing peo- 
ple are to be found anywhere than are those who gather around 
the little tables in the parks and take refreshments in the evenings 
and listen to the music. 

Viewed from the ocean Athens seems to be in a valley. Much 
of it is. But in the valley are many eminences over which the 
city straggles, and viewed from these high points it presents an 
attractive appearance. The background of the mountains and the 
blue ocean as a perspective combine to make one of the most 



Greece. 469 

beautiful settings for a city to be seen anywhere in the world. 
The ancients had an eye for the picturesque and artistic even in 
the location of their cities. 

The presence of Mount Pentilicus, the mountain of marble, and 
other similar quarries, apparently as exhaustless now as twenty- 
five centuries ago, and the abiding influence of their ancestors, 
have led the people to adopt the ancient models in the architecture 
of their buildings, many of which are classic and aesthetic. 

HISTORIC MEMORIES. 

The absorbing element of interest in Athens is its past. As 
soon as one's foot touches its soil there rush upon him the mem- 
ories of what he has read of the wonderful events and yet more 
wonderful men that have made its history illustrious. Here was 
the birthplace of much that has contributed to the civilization of 
all succeeding time. Here Plato and Socrates and Aristotle and 
their associates taught their systems of philosophy which have 
fed the thought of every age. Here Praxiteles and Phidias and 
their cotemporaries wrought their matchless works of art which 
have been the admiration and the models of all who have fol- 
lowed. Here Demosthenes delivered orations that have thrilled 
succeeding ages. Here St. Paul preached the unknown God to 
idolatrous Atheneans on Mars Hill. Here Alcibiades and Them- 
istocles and Pericles and Sophocles and Euripides and others too 
numerous to mention gave their names to undying fame. The 
achievements of its heroes, its philosophers, its poets, its paint- 
ers, its statesmen, all are recalled, and render historic every spot 
within its precincts. For, while the old Athens of their day has 
nearly all been swept away, the site is still there, the mountains 
and rocks and valleys and memorials in imperishable marble of the 



470 Ai-omid the World. 

work they did. We walked upon the spot where stood the acad- 
emy in whose groves Plato taught. We stood upon the stone on 
Penyx hill where Demosthenes stirred the hearts and heads of 
the people with his rapturous oratory. We were upon Mars Hill 
where Paul spoke his fearless words right under the shadow of 
the Acropolis and in view of all the splendid temples dedicated to 
heathenism. There still stand the Hill of the Muses and the 
Hill of the Nymphs and Mount Pentilicus as they did when Ho- 
mer lived and there is the Acropolis, now as then the central figure 
of the city, upon which stands the partially dismantled Parthe- 
non, the architectural wonder of all ages from the days of Pericles 
over three hundred years before Christ, until the present time. 
No one who has a head or a heart and who has been even an or- 
dinary reader of history can visit these spots without being 
thrilled by the memories which they evoke. 

MEMORIALS IX MARBLE. 

The most conspicuous and interesting relic of the past in Athens 
is the Parthenon. It stands upon the Acropolis, a hill about 600 
or 800 feet high which rises abruptly out of the midst of the 
city. Every student of Grecian history has seen pictures of it, 
and is familiar with its appearance and its history. It is ninety- 
five feet in width by two hundred and twenty-five feet in length 
and is probably forty feet in height. It was erected during the 
reign of Pericles as a temple of worship to the goddess Athenae or 
Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. It is surrounded by a colon- 
nade of fluted marble columns, and inside stood a marble statue 
of the goddess, concealed from the public in a chamber corres- 
ponding to the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple built by Sol- 
omon. There is also an outer room, corresponding to the Holy 



Greece. 47 1 

Place in the Jewish temple, and also a porch. On the outside 
stood an altar of sacrifice. I observed in the heathen temples in 
China and Syria that they all followed the same plan of con- 
struction and worship as did the Israelites. 

The Parthenon is simple, massive, symmetrical. Its pillars all 
lean slightly and are a shade convex for architectural efifect. 
There is also a slight convexity of the floors which support them. 
The frieze by Phidias is conceded to be unsurpassed in sculptural 
art. It is said that no architect has ever been able to duplicate the 
structure in accuracy and delicacy of work. It was partially 
blown up several centuries ago. But the walls are still standing 
as are most of the columns. There is upon the Acropolis a mu- 
seum filled with interesting rehcs and souvenirs from the Parthe- 
non. The hill has several structures of classic mould and beauty. 

Under and imbedded in the hill of the Acropolis are the ruins 
of the ancient temple of Dionysius of Elentherai where were en- 
acted the tragedies of Sophocles and others. The ampitheater 
which is of marble and is in good state of preservation, held 
14,000 people. The space occupied by the parquet of a modern 
theater was used for the place of sacrifice, a ceremony which then 
accompanied histrionic exhibitions. There was no roof above it. 
The proscenium now destroyed is said to have been a beautiful 
work of art. 

The arch of Hadrian, the temple of Vulcan and a few col- 
umns of the great Temple of Zeus or Jupiter constitute about all 
the remaining striking specimens of ancient architecture to be 
found in Athens. 



472 Around the World. 

STADIUM AND MUSEUM. 

One of the sights of modern Athens is its magnificent stone 
stadium erected several years ago and in which the international 
Olympian games were played in 1906. It will hold 50,000 people 
and is probably the largest auditorium in the world. It is ellip- 
tical in shape, and every seat has a fine view of the arena. 

The national museum at Athens is disappointing. While it con- 
tains many objects of interest, notably the sarcophagi of the pe- 
riod of Agamemnon and their contents exhumed by the late 
Prof. Schlieman it is much inferior to the museum at Cairo or at 
Constantinople and one is surprised not to find more where the re- 
sources are so abundant. 

CORINTH. 

Next to Athens the most interesting spot in Greece is Ancient 
Corinth. It is reached by train after three hours' ride along the 
beautiful gulfs of Salamis and Salonica. At Salamis is passed 
the site of the battlefield where Xerxes met his disastrous defeat 
by the Greeks and there is shown the spot where he stood and di- 
rected the movements of his army. 

A ship canal connects the gulfs of Salonica and Corinth and is 
about four miles in length. At its southern end stands new Cor- 
inth. Four miles farther, overlooking the blue waters of the 
lovely ancient harbor is the site of old Corinth. It is upon an em- 
inence and a plain a mile or two in width lies between it and the 
bay. This space was probably formerly covered either by the city 
or the waters of the bay. 

The city is being excavated by the American School of Archae- 
ology and many important discoveries have been made. The 
temple of Apollo has been fully revealed, but only the floors and 



Greece. 4*73 

porticoes are standing. A Jewish synagogue^ believed to be the 
one in which St. Paul preached, has been found. A spring gushes 
from the mountain side which was represented to us as the Pier- 
ian spring, from which the ancients drank to imbibe wisdom. 
We ourselves felt badly in need of that article and would have 
drunk from it had its waters not been so uncleanly. 

We wanted to visit Olympus and Delphi and Mycenae and 
Sparta and Thermopylae and Marathon, in fact the whole island, 
for it is filled with historic interest^ but the heat was terrible and 
we were compelled to leave. 

A ROYAL PALACE AND TRAGEDY. 

Upon our sail from Patras, near which it is claimed the body of 
Byron is buried, we stopped the part of one day at the island of 
Corfu and visited the summer palace of Kaiser Wilhelm of Ger- 
many. It is a charming place, erected on a cliff overlooking the 
beautiful waters of the Ionian sea. It has delightful gardens and 
grounds filled with classical statuary and fruits and flowers. The 
house itself contains seventy-five rooms, is beautifully furnished, 
and elaborately hung with costly paintings. It was built by the late 
Empress of Austria who was assassinated in Switzerland some 
sixteen years ago. It is said to have cost a million and a half 
dollars. The Kaiser bought it for $200,000. He spent a month 
there during the last spring. The history of the poor empress 
who found health from consumption here to be afterward mur- 
dered is one of the most pathetic tragedies in modern royal life. 
An additional sorrow is said to have been that she was coldly 
treated by her husband and that her life was one of neglect and 
suffering. In wandering through the beautiful grounds and in- 
side the splendid rooms and corridors of this gloriously located 



474 Around the World. 

and ideally constructed and furnished palace, where there is ap- 
parently everything to please the eye and gratify the taste, one can 
'but feel how little at last do all these count as against health and 
happiness and life. We passed on our way the huts of several 
humble peasants, earning their bread by hard and honest work. 
We thought how much happier their lots were than that of the 
empress with all her wealth and royalty who owned the castle on 
the hill, but whose life was spent in shadow and finally went out at 
the hands of an assassin. It is a relentless truth difficult to learn 
that happiness comes not with fame and wealth but that these 
often bring sorrow in their train. It is rarely been more vividly 
illustrated than in the unhappy life and terrible death of the 
Empress of Austria. 



ATJTHOK'S NOTE. 

The heat became so intense during our visit to Greece that we 
•determined to hasten our return. We did not tarry but a few 
days in Europe, but we had previously, in the year 1904, visited 
that country, spending several months in England, Germany, 
Switzerland and Italy. During that -tour several letters were 
written by a member of our party, Edwin Sydney Stephens, son 
of the author. These letters are herewith inserted, thus making 
the story of the tour around the world complete. His name is ap- 
pended to the letters which he wrote. 



LIX. 



ROME, POMPEII AND VESUVIUS 

Rome of to-day is a city ancient, mediaeval and modern, with 
a population of five hundred thousand. It is a city of churches, 
ruins and water fountains, representing the civilization of over 
two thousand years. It has preserved something from every 
stage of its growth. 

ANCIENT ROME. 

The real, the great Rome contained a population of three mil- 
lion people. It was the mainspring of the greatest empire ever 
known to the world. From it the clock work of all the nations 
was propelled and regulated. Not only this, but in the later years 
of the empire Rome was the seat of the greatest luxury yet known 
to man. 

THE FORUM. 

There are many relics of those days which give us a very 
good idea of w^hat the civilization was. The heart of the Roman 
Empire throbbed in the Forum. It contained the senate, the 
market, the courts, and was the gathering place of all the citizens. 
In short it was the center of Roman life. The building now is, 
of course, in ruins. Only a few columns, together with the paving 
remain. The entire area must have been about 250,000 square 
feet. This embraced the market place, the rostrum, several tem- 
ples and the triumphal arch of Septimus Severus. The whole 
building w^as built of marble and with its magnificent architecture, 
parts of which are still standing, it must have been a beautiful 

(477) 



478 Around the World. 

structure. It was in the Forum that Cicero deHvered his famous 
orations. The palace of Caesar stands just behind the Forum 
and enough of it remains to show the luxury and opulence of 
those ancient emperors. 

THE COLISEUM. 

The Forum w^as the business place and political center of the 
Romans; the Coliseum was one of their playgrounds — they had 
many. This structure was built of stone and bricks, covered over 
with marble and bronze. The shape was circular and the tiers 
of seats rose to a height of eighty feet. The seating capacity was 
fifty thousand. 

The Coliseum was used chiefly for gladiatorial combats. When 
contests between man and man ceased to amuse the spectators 
they introduced wild beasts. The places where they were con- 
fined are still preserved. They stood convenient to the arena, so 
that the animals could be turned in upon their victims with great 
ease. It is needless to mention the awful carnage that took place 
in this place, as it is too well known. The Coliseum was erected 
by the labor of Jews who had been made prisoners by the Romans. 
It was not the scene of the burning of the Christians by Nero, 
as is suggested by certain novels. This could not have been so„ 
for it was not built until after the death of Nero. 

THE CIRCUSES AND BATHS. 

The scenes of the greatest extravagance were the Circus Max- 
imus, the circus of Nero, and the various imperial baths. Very 
little of these remain. The circuses are almost com.pletely gone. 
In the Circus Maximus, with a seating capacity of one hundred 
and fifty thousand, were held the chariot races, besides the reg- 



Rome, Pompeii and Vesuvius. 479 

Lilar gladiatorial combats. But the circus of Caligula was the 
largest. It held three hundred thousand people and was the 
scene of the most awful spectacles in Roman history. It was 
here that Caligula burned the Christians or threw them to the 
wild beasts. Hundreds of wild animals were brought annually 
from Africa to be used in these imperial amusements. At one 
time the arena was flooded with water and a naval battle was 
fought to amuse the people. Amused they must be, for they had 
nothing to do, and if they grew restless the emperor knew only 
too well what would happen. 

The most luxurious places of amusement w-ere the baths. Of 
these only the walls are standing. But excavations have been 
made and some of the finest of ancient sculpture has been found 
in their ruins. The baths of Nero, Diocletian and Caracalla were 
perhaps the most gorgeous. It is said that those of Diocletian 
would accommodate as many as three thousand bathers at one 
time. Many of the tubs have been exhumed. They are most 
elaborate and more spacious than those in the royal Italian pal- 
ace to-day. The Romans bathed as often as four times daily. 
The baths were fitted with magnificent libraries where the citi- 
zens retired to read and rest after the burden of bathing. 

THE CATACOMBS. 

These were the luxuries which the Emperors and their pagan 
subjects enjoyed. The lot of the Christians was another story. 
They were driven to such desperation by their persecution that 
they dug holes in the ground and there they lived, worshiped 
and died. These homes beneath the ground are known as the 
Catacombs. They are situated along the old Appian way, about 
three miles south of Rome. They extend into the ground four or 



480 Around the World. 

five stories and their labyrinthic windings cover a distance of 
twelve miles. The number of martyrs and saints who, it is 
claimed, are buried down there, is too large to bear belief. A 
short expedition into the place, however, shows that their number 
must have been legion ; for the walls are lined with tombs from 
ceiling to floor, some of them still containing the skeletons. 
There are five hundred chapels and altars, each one about six feet 
wide and eight feet long. 

THE ROME OF TO-DAY. 

Modern Rome, aside from its ruins, is a city of churches. 
There are three hundred and sixty-five, with ten thousand priests. 
The finest church building in the city or in the whole world, is St. 
Peter's Cathedral. Its magnificence is beyond description. In 
the first place it is of such enormous proportion that from no 
standpoint can one get a view of the whole building. It stands 
at the head of a hill in the western part of the city. The approach 
is one of the most inspiring features. Directly in front of the 
Cathedral there is a terrace about five hundred yards long, on 
each side of which stands a row of white columns forming a semi- 
circular arcade. About half way up the terrace and on each 
side there are two immense fountains which throw great sprays 
of water twenty or thirty feet into the air. The Cathedral itself 
is built of white stone, somewhat yellowed by age, and is sur- 
mounted by an immense dome, the desigft of which was made 
by Michael Angelo. 

The interior of St. Peter's is a wilderness of marble and 
gold. Built, like all Catholic churches, in the shape of a cross, 
the transept is 450 feet long while the nave stretches a distance 
of 615 feet. The famous chair of St. Peter, together with the 




Jaa 




f^ 



Rome, Pompeii and Vesuvius. 481 

surrounding altar, are made of bronze taken from the Coliseum. 
The body of the patron saint and the head of St. Paul are said 
to have been buried in the center of the Cathedral. Every Cath- 
olic who enters the building kisses the foot of the statue of St. 
Peter. This practice has been observed so long that the toes 
are nearly worn away. 

ST. Paul's and other churches. 

Equally as gorgeous, but not so large or churchly in appearance, 
is the cathedral known as St. Paul's, outside of Rome. This is 
another wonder of beauty and magnificence. Every variety of 
stone from Alpine granite to alabaster is used in the building. 
It contains the portraits of all the popes from St. Peter down 
to the late Leo XIII. 

In one of these portraits the eyes are made of diamonds. This 
gives an idea of the general richness of the Cathedral. Under 
the central altar the body of St. Paul is said to be buried. 

Among the other cathedrals almost equally as fine as this one, 
are St. Peter in Chains — where the chains used upon the patron 
saint both in Jerusalem and the Mamertine prison are kept — St. 
Johns and St. Mary of the Angels, built upon the ruins of the 
baths of Diocletian. In fact it is said that there are fifty churches 
in Rome of the same class. 

The modern part of the city of Rome is finer than most Euro- 
pean cities. The streets are broad and well paved; much space 
is devoted to expansive plazas; magnificent fountains play in 
nearly every square; and lovely parks crown several of the seven 
hills. In short the city, though one of the most ancient in the 
world, is, at the same time, one of the most modern. It has re- 



30 



482 Around the World. 

tained its ancient architectural beauty and has kept pace with 
other cities in all the modern improvements. 

From Rome we traveled south through a hot and sterile region 
about one hundred and sixty miles to Naples, Pompeii and Vesu- 
vius. 

POMPEir. 

Pompeii, a city of about thirty thousand inhabitants, covered 
an area no larger than a country town. Its circumference was a 
little over four miles. People lived closer together than they do in 
modern cities and their houses were smaller. In 79 A. D. the city 
was buried to the depth of twenty-four feet by the eruption of 
Vesuvius. For three days the volcano poured its lava upon the 
city, killing all but ten thousand of the inhabitants and filling 
every nook and crevice with ashes. There were three distinct 
layers of lava, the bottom one pumice stone, the middle mud, and 
the top hot water. All three strata can be seen now where the ex- 
cavations are being made. In 1748 the first explorations were 
made and they have been continued ever since, but even now the 
work is only about half completed. Every day new and im- 
portant discoveries are being made. 

HOW THE CITY LOOKS. 

The ancient city of Pompeii must have been one of great beauty. 
The buildings were mostly covered with white marble and adorned 
with beautiful sculpture in columns and friezes. Just enough of 
them is left to tell the tale of their splendor. The streets are 
intact. They vary in width from about nine to twenty-five feet. 
They are paved with white stone which bears the marks of the 
chariot wheels. The sidewalks are about three feet wide and 



Rome, Pompeii and Vesuvius. 483 

stand about eighteen inches above the level of the street. Stepping 
stones were used in crossing the streets. They had no sewerage 
system. 

The interiors of the houses and temples present evidences 
of the greatest splendor. There were temples to most of the 
gods, including Jupiter, Apollo, Neptune and Venus. Then there 
was the Forum which, though not so large, served the same pur- 
pose as the one at Rome. Some of the private residences are 
very well preserved. The walls are covered with many pictures 
representing the mythological traditions. And the inner courts, 
which are supposed to have been adorned with flowers, still con- 
tain numerous statues and fountains. These inside courts are 
the most beautiful part of the houses. In fact the Pompeians did 
not care how their homes looked on the outside. They lived 
in the courts and it was to them that they paid most attention. 
There was a portico extending entirely around the court, and 
this was supported by beautiful stone columns. The court of 
course was not covered by a roof. One dining-room is almost 
intact. The walls are of the famous Pbmpeian red and are decor- 
ated with paintings of various mythological figures. More space 
is devoted to this room than to any other. Nearly all the floors 
were of Mosaic, of which some very fine remains are still pre- 
served. 

Although about one-third of the inhabitants escaped, many 
were buried alive just where they stood. Several skeletons have 
been found which show the various positions in which the vic- 
tims were caught. One skeleton was in a prison, another 
in a bath-tub and still another lying, face down as if in prayer. 
The place is full of many such interesting things but space forbids 



484 Ai'ound the World. 

their enumeration. Pompeii is one of the most interesting places 
we have visited. 

VESUVIUS. 

Overlooking Pompeii, Naples, Herculaneum and the Bay of 
Naples is the famous volcano Vesuvius. There is an electric road 
by which visitors are conveyed up to a height sufficiently near 
the crater to satisfy even the most curious. For the volcano is still 
active. When we saw it, it was especially so. About half way 
up you strike the lava which looks as if some one had poured 
thousands of tons of Missouri gumbo, soaked with water, down 
the mountain side. This lava has hardened and crumbled to 
some extent but it still has the appearance of a molten mass of 
earth that has flowed down from the crater. It covers acres 
and acres of the surrounding slopes. This deposit, it is said, was 
made in 1895. The crater from which Pompeii was destroyed 
is now quite inactive. 

From the crater that is in action now there is a constant stream 
of smoke and vapor which seems to go up and unite with the 
clouds. There is also a continual seething sound followed every 
three or four minutes by loud reports, like those from blasting, 
after which great cakes of red hot lava fly into the air and go 
sizzling down into the crater or fall upon the ever widening cone. 
There is a singular fascination about the sight which makes you 
want to linger for hours and watch it. There is undoubtedly more 
or less danger attached to visiting the summit of Vesuvius, and 
this, of course, lends the additional charm. 

Edwin Sydney Stephens. 

Naples, Italy, September 11, 1904. 



LX. 
VENICE AND FLORENCE. 

Venice is a metropolis built in the sea. For nearly fifteen hun- 
dred years it has stood out there in the Adriatic two or three miles 
from the shore. The founders of the city were driven into the 
sea by Attila when he swept down from the north on his raid upon 
Italy. Ever since the city has thriven. At one time it was an in- 
dependent city and had a republican form of government, but this 
was destroyed when the city was captured by the Austrians in 
1797. 

There are about one hundred and fifty thousand people in 
Venice; there are thousands of little shops and many large ones 
scattered through the city; and all the buildings of the town are 
of stone. All this is standing upon wooden piles driven twenty- 
five feet into the ground. The great wonder is that the whole 
thing has not given way long ago. It is claimed, and it must be 
so, that the wooden piles, after remaining a while in the ground, 
petrify and form a perfectly solid foundation. Every foot of 
solid surface is supported by these piles, from the great cathedral 
of St. Mark, down to the narrowest foot path in the citv. 

A CITY WITHOUT A WHEEL. 

Venice is a horseless city; it is also wheelless. It does not even 
contain a bicycle. Every bit of transportation is done by boats. 
Instead of streets there are canals. A large one about one 
hundred and fifty feet wide, with thousands of smaller tribu- 
taries, winds through the city forming the letter S. It is the 

(485) 



486 Around the World. 

scene of much traffic by day and of much beauty by night. Dur- 
ing the day small steams ply up and down it performing the func- 
tions of a tramway. Electric launches are known as automobiles 
in Venice. They are all equipped with regulation signal horns 
and are practically the only things in Venice that are not 
thoroughly unique. Gondolas take the place of cabs in Venice. 
They are all painted black, in mourning for the death of the 
Venetian republic in 1797. This gives them a rather sombre ap- 
pearance. 

Every pound of freight is moved by boats. The canals are lined 
with little barges laden with fruit and vegetables, and here and 
there a boat is seen lashed to the side of a building where several 
men are loading or unloading bricks, sand and lumber, stone, and 
what not. In short, boats take the place of dray wagons. On the 
other hand, whenever a carriage is used in other cities a gondola 
is employed in Venice. They carry the guests from the station to 
the hotel and they are used whenever one wants to go out any- 
where in the city. The gondoliers are experts and handle their 
boats with great ease. Although they have but one oar and al- 
though the canals are sometimes very narrow and crowded, there 
is never a collision or a blockade. They are born and bred in the 
business. Each gondolier owns his gondola and inherits the right 
to use it from his father. No licenses are sold ; they are all hered- 
itary. 

VENICE, A CITY OF ART. 

Venice is essentially a city of art. With the exception of 
Florence, it contains more masterpieces of sculpture, painting and 
architecture than any other city in Europe. On the tops of tens 



Venice and Florence. 487 

of thousands of wooden piles stands the cathedral of Saint Mark, 
perhaps the most gorgeous structure of its kind in the world. It 
is a massive edifice, built in oriental architecture, with material 
consisting of every variety of marble and mosaics of such rare 
beauty as to pass the bounds of description. On the outside of the 
building are two bronze horses taken from the palace of Nero at 
Rome. Back of them the wall is lined with pictures done in 
mosaics. Inside the cathedral there is a continuation of this ele- 
gance. From the floors to the top of the five domes there is a 
solid mass of this tedious but artistic work. The entire Old and 
New Testaments are illustrated by scenes, the color schemes of 
which are efifected by setting into plaster millions of little pieces 
of colored marble. 

There are, besides the cathedral, many art galleries filled with 
works of famous masters. Venice was the home of Titian. There 
he lived and did his work. The old Palace of the Doges, the 
former rulers of the Venetian republic, is now used as an art gal- 
lery. It contains hundreds of magnificent paintings which can- 
not be described, but must be seen to be appreciated. Connecting 
this palace with a dark and dismal old prison is the famous Bridge 
of Sighs, made famous by Hood's poem. Prisoners were led 
across this bridge after being condemned in an upper chamber of 
the palace. Through the narrow window of the bridge they saw 
the light for the last time. Henceforth they languished in the 
dark, damp dungeons of the prison. 

SOURCE OF LITERARY INSPIRATION. 

There is something in the quaintness and uniqueness of Venice 
chat attracts the artist, whether he be painter, sculptor or poet. In 
addition to the masters of the brush and chisel, there were also 



488 Around the World. 

those of the pen that favored Venice. First of all there was 
Shakespeare, who made it the scene of at least three of his plays. 
TheRialtoand Shylock's and Antonio's homes, are still pointed out 
to visitors. The Rialto is to-day the market place of the city, and 
is crowded every morning with hundreds of men and women buy- 
ing and selling fruit, vegetables, fish and trumpery of every de- 
scription. The play of Othello was also laid in Venice. The 
house supposed to have been occupied by Desdemona stands next 
to our hotel. It is a quaint old house with its white stone porti- 
coes and yellow marble walls. 

Venice was the home of Robert Browning. His residence is 
one of the finest in the city. Like many other authors both En- 
glish and American he loved Italy more than his native land. 
On a tablet placed in the wall of his residence are inscribed these 
words : "Open my heart and you will find engraved in it Italy." 

FLORENCE. 

Florence is Venice without her canals. Instead there are hun- 
dreds of narrow little streets which tangle themselves hopelessly 
around the quaint old yellow stone buildings. These two cities 
are similar in that they are primarily centres of art. This feature 
is carried further in Florence than in Venice. Where the latter 
has three picture galleries the former has half a dozen. In 
neither city are there any extensive manufactories but both are 
dependent upon their art galleries for subsistence. In Florence 
especially the shops do not contain wearing apparel, foodstuffs or 
even liquors ; but they are monotonously similar in that they are 
all filled with statuary and paintings, copies of the famous 
originals which are found in the galleries. It is an excellent place 
to buy fine copies of the works of the masters. 




D < 

^-> m 



Venice and Florence. 489 



MICHAEL ANGELO. 

In every one of these centres of art there is one man who 
stands head and shoulders above his fellows. In Milan there was 
Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer and public spirited citizen; 
in Venice there was Titian^ the painter, and in Florence there was 
Michael Angelo, the greatest of them all, for he was painter, 
sculptor, architect, patriot and warrior. Moreover each one of 
these masters established his rank by a single work of art, Leon- 
ardo da Vinci by his "Last Supper," Titian by his "Assumption," 
and Michael Angelo by his statue of David. Second to Michael 
Angelo in Florence stands Raphael, whose ''Madonna of the 
Chair" is regarded by most people as the finest in the world. 
Michael Angelo, however, was the greater genius because his 
talents extended to a larger number of arts. 

The statue of David by Michael Angelo is a marvel. The 
anatomy of the figure seems to be perfect. Although it may not 
harmonize with our idea of David himself, we nevertheless must 
admire it for its intrinsic beauty. It is said that the sculptor 
studied for thirty years in the hospital of Florence, before he 
began to carve the figure. Besides his other accomplishments he 
was also a surgeon. In fact, it is said he was an expert in nine 
dififerent professions. 

Florence has not failed to pay proper tribute to this, her greatest 
son. His body lies in the Church of the Holy Cross, the West- 
minster Abbey of Italy. By the side of it are interred the remains 
of Machiavelli, the statesman, Alfieri, the Shakespeare of Italy, 
Rosini, the musician, and Galileo, the astronomer. In addition 
a beautiful drive, winding up the mountain side to a broad ex- 
pansive square, which caps the summit, has been built and named 



490 Around the World. 

in honor of Michael Angelo. It is said to be one of the finest 
drives in the world. From the square one gets a magnificent 
view of Florence and the surrounding valley and mountains, 

SAVONAROLA. 

There is another Florentine as well known as Michael Angelo. 
This is Savonarola. The monastery where he lived and where 
he wrought his own undoing is still standing, but unoccupied. 
The bedroom and study where the martyr lived and did his work 
are mere niches in the wall of the great building. Even the 
sermon which was the immediate cause of his being condemned 
is exhibited to visitors, also the chapel where he received the last 
sacrament before his execution. In the main square of the city a 
scaffold was erected and Savonarola, together with two other 
monks was burned to death. Although his life was more valuable 
to Florence and Italy than that of Michael Angelo, there is scarcely 
a stone raised in his memory. 

HOW FLORENCE LOOKS, 

The general appearance of Florence is one of poverty. It does 
not possess the prosperous look of Milan or even of Venice. Its 
shops are small and seem deserted, while the narrow streets har- 
bor many forlorn and hungry old women and more dirty and 
ragged children. Beggars are met on every hand. They accost 
you as you enter and emerge from the cathedrals and galleries 
and run after your carriage as you drive through the streets. 
Some of them carry a lot of rubbish which they persistently press 
upon you. One man tried for half an hour to sell us some saw- 
dust. These are experiences that are not met with in Venice, be- 
cause there begging is prohibited by law. 



Venice and Florence. 491 

One other objectionable feature about Florence and Italy gen- 
erally is the cruelty with which they treat animals. Ireland is 
not to be compared to this country in that respect. In the first 
place all the drayage is done by two-wheeled carts. To these 
are hitched lean and hungry looking mules and horses and loads 
heavy enough for a four horse team are piled upon these poor 
beasts until they fairly tremble and sway under the burden. Shet- 
land ponies and donkeys are used for ordinary driving purposes 
and as many as three or four men pile themselves upon the front, 
rear and centre of the little carts, lifting the ponies nearly off 
the ground in ascending, and mashing them down in descending, 
the hills. In Milan we remarked that one horse did as much as 
three would do in America. In Florence ponies take the place 
of horses. 

CLIMATE AND COUNTRY. 

It should not, however, be concluded that Florence and Italy 
generally are altogether bad. Aside from the poverty, beggary and 
cruelty, they offer many charming attractions. The climate even 
at this time of the year is delightful. Of course in the middle of 
the day the sun is somewhat warm but in the shade the tempera- 
ture is ideal. The nights are cool and refreshing. On the whole 
the atmosphere has a softness and gentleness that we do not get in 
America. There are very few mosquitoes and no flies. 

The country abounds in all kinds of delicious fruits. The rail- 
roads run for miles and miles through what seems to be one con- 
tinuous vineyard, burdened with immense clusters of black and 
white grapes. At every station, on every hotel table, and along 
the streets are found peaches, pears, grapes, and figs, which can 
be bought for a song. Wine is used instead of water all over 



492 Around the World. 

Italy; in fact it is said that the water is rife with fever germs. 
The wines are Hght and not intoxicating, but one becomes tired of 
them after awhile and longs for the pure rain water of old Mis- 
souri. Edwin Sydney Stephens. 
Florence, September 5, 1904. 




IN SWITZERLAND 



SWITZERLAND. 



LXI. 
SWITZERLAND, THE ITALIAN LAKES AND MILAN. 

The scenery of Switzerland is the superlative of all we have 
seen since we reached European shores. It is a country of beau- 
tiful lakes, verdant and snow-capped mountains and railroad tun- 
nels. We entered Switzerland on the north after passing through 
the Black Forest of Germany. Northern Switzerland is one con- 
tinuous lawn formed by the thousand little meadows that lie or 
hang on the hillsides. This seems to be the most productive part 
of the country. In this section women are seen here and there 
working in the fields, either raking hay or digging potatoes as 
these seem to be about the only crops. As you approach central 
Switzerland you come in sight of the lakes and snow-capped 
mountains. The first lake is Zurich, which lies in the foothills on 
the northern side of the Alps, just beyond it lies Lake Zug and still 
farther on Lake Lucerne. The latter is the most beautiful of the 
three. Where it extends up into the mountain passes it forms an 
immense cross. The color of the water is pale green. The water 
is really clear, but reflects the green tints of the grassy bottoms 
or shores. 

PILATUS AND RIGHI. 

Overlooking the lake are the two famous mountains, Righi and 
Pilatus, of which the latter is the higher. It receives its name 
from a legend that from its heights Pontius Pilate committed 
suicide by drowning himself in a lake. It is 6964 feet high and 

(495) 



496 Around the World. 

its summit is covered with snow. We made a trip from Lucerne 
across the lake and up to the top of Pilatus. There is a cog road 
that runs almost perpendicularly up the mountain side. From 
the summit we stood in snow and had a commanding and con- 
trasting view of nearly the whole of Switzerland. To the south 
we saw the whole Alpine range with their summits covered, buried 
in snow. On the north we looked down on the green tops of the 
smaller mountains and saw Zurich, Zug, and Lucerne stretching 
chain-like towards the north. On the east white clouds floated 
hundreds of feet below us, while the west was veiled in mist. The 
variety of the view constitutes its chief attraction. Righi is not 
so high as Pilatus and consequently does not command such a 
magnificent view, nor is it covered with snow. One surprising 
thing about all the mountains of Switzerland is that hardly any 
of them are too high or too cold for human habitation. Large 
hotels crown their summits and farm cottages deck their slopes. 
Some of these little mountain homes seem practically inaccessible. 
But it is surprising how every foot of available ground is utilized. 
Occasionally you will see on the very summit of a mountain a 
small herd of cattle grazing as peacefully as if they were standing 
in the valley below. These are the scenes which you find in trav- 
eling through the lakes and around the mountains, 

FROM LUCERNE TO COMO. 

The most wonderful part of Switzerland is seen in a trip across 
the Alps from Lucerne to Como in Italy. In this trip you pass 
through the famous Saint Gothard tunnel nine miles in length. 
The feat of engineering required for the construction of this road 
across and through the Alps is almost as wonderful as the scenery 
itself. The road winds and overlaps and passes directly through 



Switzerland, the Italian Lakes and Milan. 497 

solid mountains for miles and miles until it reaches the summits; 
then it reverses the operation on the other side. In places as 
many as three lines of track are visible, one above the other. 
The tunnels do not run straight through the mountains but follow 
a winding course, so that upon emerging from one of them you 
find the train going in the opposite direction from that which 
it took in entering. The result is that the railroad attracts as 
much attention as the mountains. 

In this part of Switzerland there is very little cultivation of the 
soil. In fact there is not much to cultivate. The mountain sides 
are of solid rock and the valleys are so narrow as afford space for 
nothing but a dashing and foaming stream of light greenish water. 
The rapid descent of the mountain ranges, however, soon brings 
you back to the lakes and little green meadows again. By this 
time you have reached the Italian lakes. The first one is Lugano 
which forms a horseshoe between the mountains. The weather 
here is very hot, in striking contrast to the frigid temperature of 
Mount Pilatus. 

Como lying at the foot of the Alps in the gentle climate of 
northern Italy is said to be the most attractive lake in the Alpine 
district. It is some forty-five miles long and one-fourth to one- 
half a mile wide. Its natural beauty is hardly equal to that of 
Lucerne. The water does not have that delicate greenish color 
which is found in the Swiss lake nor is it surrounded by such 
majestic mountains. The improvements, on the shores, however, 
of Como are superior to those of Lucerne. The Italian lake is 
dotted on both sides by the beautiful villas of wealthy Italians and 
by many magnificent hotels. At Bellagio, situated at the junction 
of Como and Lecco, there is a hotel whose grounds form a verita- 
ble paradise of tropical foliage, vari-colored flowers and shaded 
33 



498 Around the World. 

vistas. These gardens are seen in all the villas and they, with 
the columned arcades and steps running down to the water's edge, 
remind one of stage scenes and curtain paintings. They are the 
reality of the fancies we weave after reading such novels as Quo 
Vadis or the Last Days of Pompeii. 

BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL LAKES COMPARED. 

We are now in position to draw a conclusion as to which are 
the more beautiful, the British or continental lakes. The decision 
must inevitably be in favor of the latter. The English, Irish and 
Scotch lakes might be called pretty, but never grand or beautiful, 
adjectives which are most appropriate to Lucerne, Lugano, Como, 
and Lecco. Killarney, Windermere and Lomond do not possess 
the towering mountain background of Lucerne nor the artistic 
beauty which characterizes Como. It has been said that Irish 
scenery is superior to that of Switzerland, but that is a mistake. 
Besides the greater height of the Swiss mountains there are the 
additional attractions of snow-covered peaks, the contrast between 
these and the green foothills and valleys below and the beautiful 
coloring of the leaves where they have occasionally been tinted 
by premature frost. On the whole the scenery is by far the finest 
we have seen. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF SWITZERLAND. 

There are between three and four million people in Switzerland. 
The government is a centralized republic. The country is divided 
up into twenty-five cantons, each of which has a representative 
in the national legislative body. This body is made up of these 
twenty-five representatives and together with members elected 
from the country at large — one for every forty thousand inhabi- 



Switzerland, the Italian Lakes and Milan. 499 

tants. The members hold office for seven 3^ears. The president 
is selected by the National Council and not by direct vote of the 
people. His term of office is one year. Each canton is independ- 
ent in the control of its internal affairs. Switzerland is said to 
be one of the freest countries in the world. 

RESOURCES OF SWITZERLAND. 

The chief products of Switzerland are cheese, milk, chocolate 
and watches. She has no great natural resource. Agricult- 
urally she is poor and with all her beautiful mountains she pro- 
duces very few minerals. The country seems to be dependent 
upon the outside world. Millions of dollars are spent by visitors 
who come to enjoy the climate and scenery. In fact tourists are 
the chief source of its existence. 

MILAN. 

'I'hree features make Milan one of the most interesting cities 
we have visited : The Cathedral, paintings and the royal palace. 
Weeks could be profitably spent in either one of these. The cathe- 
dral is one of the finest in the world. It is five hundred feet long 
by seventy-five feet wide. Its architecture is a marvel of rich- 
ness and detail. One is immediately impressed by the wealth and 
grandeur of the structure. It was begun in the fourteenth century 
and completed about the beginning of the nineteenth. The cost 
of labor on the building, exclusive of the expense for material, 
was one hundred and twenty millions of dollars. The exterior 
is adorned by numberless little pinnacles, every inch of which is 
sculptured. There are four thousand five hundred life-size statues 
on the outside walls and top of the cathedral. The interior is 
equally as magnificent. There are fifty-two columns eighty feet 



500 Around the World. 

high and six feet thick. Three windows of richly colored glass 
worked into scenes representing the entire New and Old Testa- 
ments, measure eighty feet in height and thirty-five feet in width. 
The framework of the windows as well as the fifty-two columns, 
the floors and many statues are of marble. 

In the crypt or basement of the cathedral are the remains of 
Saint Charles, who consecrated the building. Although the body 
has been buried three hundred years, it is still preserved and vis- 
itors are allowed to see it upon the payment of a small gratuity. 
The casket is of silver and crystal, while on the body are placed 
the votive offerings of the saint's friends, consisting mainly of em- 
eralds, diamonds and rubies. The value of the casket, together 
with these precious stones, is estimated at over a million dollars. 

Another interesting feature in this cathedral is a nail which is 
said to Have been used in the cross on which Christ was crucified. 
This nail is kept in a small case in the topmost arch of the cathe- 
dral. Every year on the third of May the Archbishop of ]\Iilan 
ascends to the roof by means of a small balloon provided for the 
purpose, takes the nail out, descends and leads a procession around 
the building, then returns the nail to its place. This is not a mere 
legend, but a practice which is earnestly and faithfully observed. 

THE PAINTINGS OF MILAN. 

Picture galleries as a general thing are tiresome even when we 
see them, but infinitely more so when some one tries to describe 
them to us. I shall therefore attempt no description here. But 
it may be interesting to know what famous masters are repre- 
sented at Milan, for it is one of the three centers of Italian art. 
The galleries there are filled with pictures by such artists as 
Raphael, Rubens, Michael Angelo, Yzn Dyck and Leonardo da 



Switzerland, the Italian Lakes and Milan. 501 

Vinci. These are but a few of the more famous ones. The 
famous Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael is found here. It 
occupies the first place in the gallery. But the most popular 
painting is not in the gallery, but is found on the wall of a 
church. This is the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It would 
be useless to attempt to describe this painting as nearly every one 
is familiar with it. It covers one of the end walls in long dining 
hall and is considerably defaced. Numerous copies are being 
made which attempt to fill out the missing parts, but none of 
them are equal to the original. It is a wonderful analysis of 
character on canvas. 

THE ROYAL PALACE. 

Until the assassination of King Humbert, Milan was one of the 
residences of the King of Italy. It is visited but rarely by Victor 
Immanuel on account of the fate which his father met there. The 
interior of the palace is somewhat of a repetition of the other royal 
residences which we have seen. Some interesting historical facts, 
however, are connected with it. It was built by Eugene Beauhar- 
nais, the brother-in-law of Napoleon and the brother of Joseph- 
ine. His fondness for luxury and magnificence are exhibited in 
the furnishings of this palace. There are banquet halls, dining 
rooms, refreshment rooms, kings' and queens' apartments, ball 
rooms and what not. Here are the beds occupied by Napoleon 
and Maximilian, while mementos of the former are found on every 
hand. The ball room is lighted by three thousand candles and 
frescoed with images representing the complete life of Napoleon. 
The palace is nearly as fine as Windsor except that it does not 
contain such a host of portraits nor so large a display of armor. 



502 Around the World. 



THE CITY OF MILAN. 

Milan is a city of cream-colored buildings, narrow and crooked 
streets and arcades. The last are the characterizing features of 
the business houses of the place. The stores are not directly on the 
street as in most cities, but they occupy place in a sort of portico 
supported by a long row of granite columns. The effect is quite 
pleasing, as it adds an element of beauty and at the same time 
gives protection from the sun. Street cars similar to our own are 
used in Milan, except that they are two stories high, passengers 
filling both stories. In most parts of Europe one horse does the 
work of two; in Milan he does as much as three. This is another 
place where the humane society would have enough to do. One 
thing, however, must be said to the credit of Milan as well as of all 
of northern Italy. Women are not employed in as many manual 
occupations as in Germany, Switzerland and the British Isles. Al- 
though there are a great many very poor people in Milan the city 
has the general appearance of prosperity. 

Edwin Sydney Stephens. 

Milan, Italy, August 30, 1904. 




SCENES IN BRUSSELS 



GERMANY. 



LXII. 
WATERLOO, THE RHINE, HEIDELBERG AND GERMANY. 

Fourteen miles south of Brussels^ on an undulating prairie, lies 
the battlefield of Waterloo. Here in a open arena not more than 
two miles long and a half a mile wide, the gladiatorial little Corsi- 
can matched himself against the allied powers of Europe; here 
some thirty-five thousand men lost their lives ; and here the future 
of England was established. At present there is a mound two 
hundred feet high in the center of the field from which there 
is a commanding view of all the surrounding country. The line 
of battle of the opposing sides as well as the plan of attack was 
very simple. The English and Prussians were facing the south, 
while Napoleon's army was facing the north. Napoleon gave an 
order for a charge on Wellington's centre, hoping to break his 
line half in two. But the emperor, from his position could not see 
the sunken road, or cut, as we would call it, because of a gradual 
incline which rose from him towards the north. When the in- 
fantry reached the cut they faltered but were immediately swept 
over the embankment by the onslaught of the cavalry from be- 
hind. The charge was continued until this chasm twenty-five feet 
deep and fifty feet wide was filled with the bodies of soldiers. 
They at last formed a bridge over which the remainder passed. 
Directly in front of this road Marshal Ney and his division were 
stationed. He made four different charges and each time his horse 
was shot from under him. But for the incident of the sunken 
road it is believed that Napoleon would have been victorious. 

The brunt of the battle was not in the center or on the east as 
Napoleon had planned, but it took place on the extreme west, at 
the Hougomont farm. It was a very close conflict all along the 

(505) 



506 Around the World. 

line and in some places it was hand to hand. Napoleon lost about 
seventeen thousand men and Wellington nearly as many. It was, 
as the French contend, a massacre and not a fight. 

The battlefield has been preserved except that the trees have 
nearly all been destroyed and the embankment on the south of 
the sunken road has been cut away to provide earth for building 
the great memorial, Mount Lion. It is two hundred feet high 
and about three hundred feet in diameter at the base. It is said 
that all the earth was carried by women in baskets, working for 
eight pence or sixteen cents a day. 

BRUSSELS. 

Brussels is a beautiful city. It is a mixture of modern and me- 
diaeval. It is full of beautiful flower gardens and terraces, while 
the public park and forest owned by the city is said to be surpassed 
only by the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. There are over a thousand 
acres of natural forest extending from within the city two or three 
miles towards the south. The preservation of forests is at the 
basis of a great part of the beauty of these European countries 
and we should follow the example in America. Brussels also has 
a certain quaintness of appearance. Alongside the modern electric 
and motor cars are seen both dogs and oxen in harness. Dogs 
are as common beasts of burden in Belgium as donkeys are in 
Ireland. They pull the bread and milk carts with apparently as 
much ease as horses. We saw one cart laden with a man and 
woman and drawn by a combination team of donkey and dog. 
Horses are hitched to the end of wagon tongues instead of on 
each side. It is possible to work them this way because the coun- 
try is almost absolutely level. 

Women do most of the work in the fields. They cut the hay, 



Waterloo, Heidelberg and Germany. 507 

rake and haul it away on ox carts. Women are employed in a 
greater number of occupations in Europe than they are in America. 
This is true of England, Ireland and Scotland as well as Belgium 
and Germany. In England they work in the fields and stand 
behind the drinking bars; in Belgium and Germany they do not 
perform the functions of barkeepers, but they drive the milk carts 
and carry their farm products to market. In the treatment of 
women America is far more chivalrous and considerate than is 
any other country we have seen. 

BELGIAN AGRICULTURE. 

Belgium is really a great aggregation of garden patches. Es- 
pecially is this true of the western part. The land in that section 
is low and flat, striped all over with water ditches which serve the 
double purpose of separating the thousand little holdings, and of 
affording a means of transporting the farm products to the vil- 
lages. The methods of cultivation are surprisingly primitive. 
Wherever a plow is used, it is drawn either by oxen, or by cows ; 
but generally the land is cultivated by hand. Grain is cut with 
sickles. Scythes are seldom seen and mowing machines and self 
binders are practically unknown. The reason for this condition 
of agriculture, of course, is that the crops are too small to make 
the use of labor-saving machinery profitable. 

THE RHINE. 

The Rhine is a river somewhat wider than the Gasconade but 
not so wide as the Osage. It has a length of some two hundred 
and fifty miles. Of course everyone has heard of the beautiful 
scenery along this river. Most of it lies between Coblenz and 
Bingen; in fact, if one wants the scenery and that only, the best 
trip would be between these two places. In this section high 



508 Around the World. 

mountains rise directly up from the water and seem to close you in 
on all sides. Along the mountain sides are thousands of little 
vineyards planted in terraces, some of them not more than fifty 
feet square. This is where the best wine in Germany comes from. 
Occasionally on the top of a mountain peak are seen the ruins 
of an old castle or fortification. A few of these ruins are relics 
of the Romans, but most of them are the lairs of the ancient rob- 
ber knights who lived by foraging upon their weaker neighbors. 
Their depredations finally became so exhaustive upon the country 
that the king issued a proclamation to the efifect that they must 
either quit their piratical crimes, or be executed. They refused, 
and he had them all beheaded and their castles destroyed. That 
is why the castles are in ruins to-day. In some cases sentimental 
millionaires have erected modern castles over or near the old ones. 

The most interesting points along the Rhine are Bonn, the 
seat of a great German University, the Lorelei Rock made famous 
by Goethe's poem, and Bingen. The last is now a railroad center 
and a town of some thirty thousand inhabitants, lying at the foot 
of the mountains. It is a very beautiful place. 

On the whole, the trip on the Rhine affords some very charming 
and romantic scenery, but as far as natural beauty goes, it does 
not surpass the Hudson near West Point, the Thousand Islands 
of the St. Lawrence or Lake George. It has the advantage over 
these places in being older and having more historical significance. 
The Rhine is a great highway of commerce as well as passenger 
traffic. It is lined from mouth to source with hundreds of freight- 
laden vessels. A trip on it is worth all it costs. 

HEIDELBERG. 

This is a place known the world over on account of its gi-eat 
University. Very few people know anything about Heidelberg 



Waterloo, Heidelberg and German}^ 509 

iDeyond the fact that it is the seat of a great institution of learning 
like Columbia. But to the visitor the University, at least in sum- 
mer, is the least interesting feature of the town. It does not pos- 
sess the aesthetic attraction of beautiful buildings and picturesque 
grounds that is found at Oxford and Cambridge. On the contrary, 
the University occupies some dingy old buildings in the heart of 
the town with no grounds at all. But the real charm and inter- 
est of Heidelberg to the sightseer is the scenery and the old castle 
which overlooks the city. The castle is now partially destroyed, 
but the grounds around it are kept in beautiful condition, and 
they afford the city a splendid park. Heidelberg looks more like 
a summer resort than a college town. It is full of flowers and 
shrubbery and in the city park there is a sort of beer garden where 
the people sit and listen to a band concert every evening while 
they drink their wine or beer. The weather is cool enough to 
make an overcoat comfortable in the evening. 

DUELING AT HEIDELBERG. 

Duels are still fought by the Heidelberg students, but never 
with the intention of killing each other. The custom now is to 
protect every part of the body and head except the ears, cheeks 
and nose. The swords used are too light to break any bones. 
Every student wants as many scars as possible and they even go 
so far as open the wounds repeatedly in order to make them leave 
very deep marks. Duels are fought upon the slightest provoca- 
tion; in fact the students will go out of their way to bring them 
about. They are generally fought by representatives of two clubs. 
They take place every morning during the school term, between 
nine and ten o'clock. A doctor is always present and examines 
each wound as soon as it is made. If it is serious he stops the 
duel. In this way fatal results are prevented. 



510 Around the World. 



GERAIANY GENERALLY. 

Rural Germany like rural Belgium is divided up into very small 
farms. There are no farm houses scattered over the country, but 
the farmers live together in the villages. Their holdings are in 
very small and narrow strips. They cultivate corn, tobacco, wheats 
oats, and all kinds of garden vegetables. Because of the scarcity 
of timber there are no fences separating one farm from another. 
In Germany women seem to do as much work on the farms as 
men. Horses, dogs and cows are the beasts of burden. Every foot 
of ground is cultivated and worked to its fullest capacity. 

The cities of Germany are ahead of any we have seen. They 
are all adorned with many little parks and boulevards; flowers 
grow prolifically, and fountains play in every square. Not only 
this, but the buildings have a fresher and more uniform appear- 
ance, and the streets are kept cleaner than those in English or 
American cities. Nearly every street in the German cities is di- 
vided in the center by a double row of trees, and under these there 
is a walk and a place for horseback riding. A great deal of space 
is devoted to making the cities beautiful. 

To sum up by comparison Germany is behind England and the 
United States agriculturally, but as far as cities are concerned 

the reverse is true. 

Edwin Sydney Stephens. 
Heidelberg, August 24, 1904. 





IN LONDON — Houses of Parliiiment — British Museum — JFestminster Abbey 

Trafalgar Square 



ENGLAND. 



LXIII. 

LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 

Miles and miles of swaying omnibuses, loaded inside and on top 
with hundreds of men and women, tediously worming their way 
through narrow and winding streets, between low and dingy old 
buildings — such are the first impressions of an American in Lon- 
don. He is oppressed by the strangeness and antique appearance 
of his surroundings, and by the feeling of his own insignificance. 
The people look as if they had just stepped out of the novels of 
Dickens or Thackeray. The Yankee (we are all Yankees over 
here), with his ideas of a great city, expects to find in London 
advanced methods of transportation, new styles of architecture, 
and above all, perhaps the latest fashions in dress. But he is dis- 
appointed. There are no street cars, at least on the north side 
of the Thames, but the streets are literally swarming with cabs 
and buses. The truth is that there is no room for street cars. 
Most people here ride on top of the buses, and this is by far the 
best way to see London. Nor do the buildings come up (or down 
I might say) to our expectations, especially in point of height. 
They are only four or five stories high, and look as if they had 
been rained on for many years. The people, too, have an ancient 
and dingy appearance. They are not sleek and well groomed as 
our New Yorkers and Bostonians are, but look comically old- 
fashioned with the black cutaways, high hats, generally about a 
size too large, and their unshapely feet, covered with still more 
unshapely shoes. Americans are immediately distinguished by a 
glance at their well-shod feet. The whole place, people and all, 
looks old-fashioned, and if Dickens or even Thackeray should 

(513) 
33 



514 Around the World. 

arise from his grave to revisit London, he would probably not 
find it much changed. For is not the Old Curiosity Shop still 
standing just as Dickens described it, and Vauxhall, where the 
immortal and immoral Becky Sharpe held forth? And there is 
"Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn," the favorite haunt of Dr. John- 
son, Goldsmith, Burns and Garrick and a hundred other places 
just as old, if not as interesting. But this is mere rambling. 

WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 

Westminster Abbey may be called the tomb of the British na- 
tion. In it is inscribed the epitaph of the English people. Along 
its arched corridors and within its time-worn vaults are deposited 
the remains of kings and queens, soldiers, poets and statesmen 
from the fourteenth century until the present time. In the poets' 
corner lie the remains of the father of English poetry, Geoffrey 
Chaucer, and just across the aisle stand the majestic statues of 
two of England's greatest statesmen, William Pitt and William E. 
Gladstone. In the farther recesses of the poets' corner are mon- 
uments or tombs of Dryden, Shakespeare, Dickens, Milton, Gray 
and Garrick. On the monument to Milton and Gray the poet has 
written these eloquent lines : 

"No more the Grecian muse unrivalled reigns; 
To Britain must zve our homage pay, 
She felt a Homer s fire in Milton's strains, 
A Pindar's rapture in the lyre of Gray." 

Could there be a more beautiful tribute to genius than that ? 

Perhaps the greatest honor ever bestowed upon an American 
is found in the fact that the bust of Longfellow occupies a place 
near the poets' corner. It was placed there, so the inscription 
says by the English people as a tribute of appreciation of an Amer- 
ican author. 



London and Its Environs. 515 

But poets are not the only ones memorialized in the Abbey. 
There are monuments to England's great statesmen and soldiers 
as well. Nelson and Wellington seem to be more honored than 
any others. In one corridor among a long line of tablets in mem- 
ory of great soldiers there is one that must surprise every Amer- 
ican who sees it. It is erected in honor of Major John Andre, so 
infamous in our eyes on account of his connection with the treason 
of Benedict Arnold. 

This list might be continued indefinitely, but lack of space for- 
bids. One other fact, however, may be mentioned in connection 
with Westminster Abbey. It is here that the kings and queens 
of England are crowned. The seat of the coronation chair is 
made, so tradition says, of the stone upon which Jacob rested when 
he dreamed of the angels and the ladder. It has been used in the 
Abbey for about five hundred years. 

THE TOWER OF LONDON. 

Equally as interesting and more ancient than Westminster Ab- 
bey is the Tower of London, the oldest parts of which were built 
by William the Conqueror and used by him as a fort and prison. 
The present structure consists of long rambling walls surmounted 
here and there with small towers of mediaeval appearance. Around 
the whole thing there is a moat and another wall. The Tower 
is now used as a sort of museum of armour and as barracks for 
the king's guards. There are also on display here all the corona- 
tion regalia now in possession of the royal house. They are en- 
closed in a glass case, surrounded by iron bars, but in plain view 
of all visitors. Within the walls of this tower kings and queens 
have languished in dark and narrow dungeons finally to be led out 
to their execution at the headsman's block, which stands in the 



516 Around the World. 

Tower yard. Here Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Jane Sey- 
mour, and many others met their fate. The official guards of the 
Tower are known as beef eaters, a name probably derived from 
their healthy and well-fed appearance. They are old soldiers who 
have distinguished themselves in battle. On the whole the Tower 
is a most interesting and picturesque place, but we Americans may 
congratulate ourselves and our country that we have no such mon- 
ument to the despotism and barbarity of former sovereigns. 

PARLIAMENT. 

A good many people think that the English House of Lords 
corresponds to our senate, and the House of Commons to our 
house of representatives. But this is not altogether true. In the 
first place seats in the House of Lords are hereditary, while in 
our senate they are elective. The members of the House of Com- 
mons, like our representatives, are elected by popular vote, but 
they hold their seats indefinitely, at any rate until their particular 
party goes out of power. Unlike our representatives, the com- 
mons do not receive any compensation for their services. They 
cannot even frank a letter or a telegram, to say nothing of their 
laundry. Another way in which they differ from our representa- 
tives is that from among them the cabinet is chosen, thus forming 
what is known as a responsible ministry. The office of member of 
Parliament is sought for one of three reasons : either for the honor, 
or for promoting the interests of one's constituents, or for pro- 
moting private ends. 

Very few people from America have the privilege of seeing the 
two houses in session. For this privilege the writer is indebted 
to the most generous courtesy of J\Ir. M. J. Flavin, a member 
from Killarney, Ireland, who spared neither time nor effort in 



London and Its Environs. 517 

getting us admitted to both houses, as well as to the Terrace where 
refreshments are served to the members and their guests. In 
their architecture both houses look more ecclesiastical than legis- 
lative. The seats are long pew-like benches, running lengthwise 
of the hall, and the members sit as close to each other as we do 
in church, or in any public audiences. There are no desks piled 
high with books, pamphlets, newspapers and letters which are so 
apt to distract the attention of the law-makers. The houses of 
Parliament are divided into what are called the Government and 
the Opposition. The former occupies the right side, the latter 
the left side. Most of the members sit with their hats on. In 
appearance they resemble the men in General Bingham's pictures 
of Missouri life about forty years ago. There are a great many 
Bentons, and Col. J. West Goodwin's white hat is seen on every 
hand. When the members wish to applaud the speaker they never 
clap their hands or stamp their feet, but simply grunt out the 
words, '^hear, hear, hear," with their peculiar English pronuncia- 
tion. 

We visited the Commons at a very opportune time. They were 
discussing Chamberlain's finance bill and, of course, a majority 
of the most prominent men were present. There was Balfour, 
the lean and studious looking prime minister, and the dramatic 
Chamberlain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Sir Henry 
Campbell-Bannerman, Mr. Balfour's most formidable opponent 
and probably his successor, and Sir George Wyndham, the brilliant 
young secretary, who holds the affairs of Ireland under his thumb, 
and Winston Churchill, and many others of less prominence. The 
whole house seemed to be united in opposition to Chamberlain's 
tariff policy, and they but reflect the sentiment of the English 
nation. 



518 Around the World. 

The scene in the House of Lords is very much the same as that 
in the lower house, except that the general appearance of the mem- 
bers is not so uniform. Here are found men all the way from 
the most distinguished and intellectual to the most pitiful and 
senseless looking English fop. The reason is that the Lords in- 
herit their seats, while the Commons do not. Like the Commons, 
they sit with their hats on, that is, all except the Lord Chancellor 
who wears his wig and sits upon the wool sack at the end of the 
hall. Lords Roseberry and Roberts were both present when we 
visited the House of Lords. Both of them occupied seats of honor 
directly opposite the Lord Chancellor. The two present quite a 
contrast. Lord Roseberry, with his full face, ruddy complexion, 
and solid frame; and Lord Roberts, whom we should expect to 
find otherwise, with his hollow cheeks, pale face, half hidden by 
grizzly iron-gray sideburns, and his thin and stooping figure. Be- 
sides them were Lord Landsdowne and Lord SaHsbury, son of 
the late Premier. 

On the terrace, overlooking the Thames, tea is served to the 
members and their guests every afternoon from four until six. 
Here, almost any afternoon, can be found the leading men of 
England, sitting around the tables with their wives, daughters 
and friends or parading the walk. 

A MISSOURI MASTODON IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 

It is probably not known to many Missourians that the great 
Leviathian or mastodon described in the forty-first chapter of the 
book of Job was discovered in the year 1838 in what is now Ben- 
ton county, Missouri, on the banks of a stream known as La 
Pomme de Terre; but such is the statement made by the dis- 
coverer of a husfe skeleton which now stands in the natural his- 



London and Its Environs. 519 

tory department of the British Museum. In a pamphlet which 
he wrote about his discovery, one Albert Koch, a showman and ad- 
venturer, states that a farmer in Gasconade county, in trying to 
discover the cause of an unpleasant odor in his well, dug up some 
huge bones. Koch, on hearing of this, went immediately to the 
place and secured, after much searching, bones enough to con- 
struct a skeleton thirty-two feet long and twelve feet high. Be- 
ing familiar with the Bible, he remembered that Job had described 
just such a monster, so he immediately set about to compare his 
specimen with Job's description. After doing so he arrived at the 
conclusion that this was none other than the great Leviathan. 
All this, he declares in a little pamphlet entitled "A description of 
the Missourium or Leviathan, with its supposed habits and In- 
dian traditions concerning the location from whence it was ex- 
humed." 

The skeleton now stands in the first place among the mastodons 
of the British Museum, and is larger than the skeletons of the 
two elephants which stand beside it. Since Koch's death it has 
been reconstructed, and now it is not nearly so large as he de- 
signed it. Indian arrows and battle axes have been found belong- 
ing to the same period, thus showing that the animal was con- 
temporaneous with man. Mr. Smith Woodward, the keeper of 
the natural history department of the museum, to whose courtesy 
I owe the privilege of looking up the history of the Missourium, 
informed me that it was the first mastodon skeleton ever dis- 
covered, and for this reason it stands first in the museum. 

ENGLISH CHARACTERISTICS. 

To the American, London and the English people present some 
striking characteristics. The first thing that impresses him is the 



520 Around the World. 

speech, pronunciation and intonation. The broad "sl" is used by 
all classes, but only the lower classes misplace the "h." The guide 
at Windsor invariably spoke of the Ca-astle. The English into- 
nation is so different from our's as to render it somewhat diffi- 
cult to understand what is said until one has become accustomed 
to it. Another thing that impresses us is the extreme politeness 
of the people. No matter where you are or whom you meet, your 
questions are always readily and gladly answered. Especially 
is this true of the police who, by the way, are most efficient, and 
the order of London adds one more to our list of favorable im- 
pressions. The people seem to have the most profound respect 
for the laWj and when its arm is raised they bow down before it. 

The essential English characteristics, however, is not politeness 
or respect for law, but reverence for the past. It is this spirit 
which has erected monuments and cathedrals and has preserved 
such relics as the Tower, the Old Curiosity Shop, Ye Old Cheshire 
Cheese Inn with the same old tables, the same old wooden seats, 
the same old bar, that formed the favorite haunt of so many 
of England's great men. By this same spirit castles have been 
preserved and are now thrown open for the enjoyment of the 
people of all nations. This suggests another characteristic of these 
people — their democracy. The King's apartments at Windsor, the 
coronation regalia at the Tower, Warwick Castle and many other 
places which are open and practically free to the public, are evi- 
dences of this spirit. We Americans boast of our democracy 
and England flatters us for it, but we should not become conceited 
over it, for we have still a good deal to learn from our once de- 
spotic mother. 

Edwin Sydney Stephens. 

London, July 26, 1904. 



LXIV. 

RUKAL AND HISTORIC ENGLAND. 

Alternating green and golden fields^ sloping gracefully down to 
the edge of clear and slow-flowing streams, lined on both 
sides with drooping willows, and, occasionally, on the top 
of a distant hill, half-hidden among green clumps of trees, an 
ancient and inspiring castle tower — this is rural and historic En- 
gland. The most beautiful, the most picturesque, the most ro- 
mantic section of Great Britain lies between London on the south 
and Chester on the north. Between these two points a great part 
of England's history has been enacted. There is Oxford, a city 
of colleges and the center of English culture and education since 
the fifteenth century. It was in this historic city that John Wes- 
ley promulgated his doctrine of Methodism and here Cranmer, 
Latimer and Ridley were tried and burned at the stake. Here, 
also, the poet Addison attended college and wrote some of his 
best verses. But forty miles beyond Oxford is Warwick, flanked 
on one side by the ruins of Kenilworth Castle, made famous by 
Scott and infamous by Leicester, and on the other side 
by Stratford-on-Avon — the birthplace of Shakespeare and the 
home of Anne Hathaway, before she became his wife. Some 
sixty or seventy miles still further to the northwest is the town 
of Chester, near which is Eaton Hall, the estate of the Duke of 
Westminster, and Hawarden, the home of the late William E. 
Gladstone. 

OXFORD. 

Oxford is a city of twenty-three colleges and about fifty thou- 
sand inhabitants, exclusive of students. The colleges form the sub- 
stance of the town; the business portion is merely incidental. 

(521) 



522 Around the World. 

The college buildings are of mediaeval architecture and have a 
great solidity and dignity of structure. They are all built around 
courts with massive gates surmounted by bell towers. The most 
famous of these is the old Tom Tower of Christ's Church Col- 
lege. The bell in it weighs seven and one-half tons, and has 
a very melodious tone. Every night at 9:10 it tolls the curfew, 
striking a hundred and one times. At that time every student 
must be in his room. Every night the college proctor, accom- 
panied by two of the faculty, known as the two bull dogs, visit 
all the billiard halls and bars in the town. If any students are 
caught they are proctorized — that is, brought before the governing 
body of the college. It is said, however, that the fellows generally 
out-run the proctor and his bull dogs and so escape punishment. 

Each college controls its own students and revenues, but they 
are all federated into one body, known as the convocation. This 
body merely lays out the curriculum for the whole university 
which is the same in all the colleges. There are no recitations, as 
we have in our American colleges, but every course is carried on 
by the lecture system. Students are not confined to one college, 
but they may take courses in any number of different ones. Most 
of them, however, prefer to be identified with one particular col- 
lege, so they take most of their lectures there. There are about 
two hundred and fifty students in each college, or about six thou- 
sand in all, the same number as at Harvard. 

STUDENT LIFE. 

At Oxford there is the same system of college dormitories that 
we have at our eastern colleges. Room rent is much cheaper than 
we have it. A suite of rooms in the most exclusive quarters rarely 
costs more than three hundred dollars. Of course this does not 



Rural and Historic England. 523 

mean that the expenses in general are lower than ours, for there 
are various other ways of spending money. For instance, a good 
many Oxford students keep as many as five or six horses and 
^o in for elaborate entertaining. It all depends upon the tastes 
and the wealth of the individuals. Students have their breakfast 
and luncheon served in their rooms. They are brought from 
the college kitchen at no extra charge. For luncheon the 
fellows generally dine five or six together, each member of a 
set taking his turn at entertaining the others in his room. Every 
student is required to dine five days out of the week in the college 
dining hall; the other two days they generally dine outside and 
more sumptuously. As I have said, every student must be in 
his room at 9:10 p. m. 

The favorite sports of Oxford students are cricket, long distance 
running, association football and rowing. In the first two and 
the last they are superior to our college students. This is because 
they devote so much time to them. You do not travel a mile in 
England without seeing a man with a cricket ball and bat or one 
rowing on one of the beautiful streams. In long distance running, 
too, they are ahead of us. This was shown in the International 
Track Meet last Saturday in London. In the short runs, the high 
and broad jumps and the weight events Yale and Harvard won, 
hands down, but when it came to the half-mile, the mile and two- 
mile races, they were thoroughly outclassed. Englishmen don't 
^o at their sports, as we do, as if they were hard work, but they 
make them more purely recreation and thus, perhaps, gain more 
benefit from them. 

SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT OXFORD. 

Oxford is pretty closely connected with the history of England. 
Christ's Church College was founded by Henry VIII, and the 



524 Around the World. 

buildings were designed by Cardinal Wolsey. It was at Oxford 
that both John and Charles Wesley were educated and whence 
John promulgated his doctrine. Here Cromwell, Addison, Dry- 
den, Gladstone, and the present King attended college. But, 
perhaps, the most famous historic fact about Oxford is that it 
was the scene of the trial and execution of the three martyrs, 
Latimer, Cranmer, and Ridley. Visitors are still shown the spot 
where the three were chained to the stake and burned. 

WARWICK, KENILWORTH AND STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 

These are three beautiful and historic places along the banks 
of the river Avon, within sixteen miles of each other. Warwick 
Castle, the ruins of Kenilworth Castle, and Stratford, the home 
of Shakespeare. Warwick is not so well known nor yet so im- 
portant historically as the other two, but it is certainly a most 
beautiful place. It has been the home of the Earls of Warwick 
for the past hundred and fifty years. The castle, with its high 
forbidding walls and towers, its beautiful gardens of shrubbery 
and flowers, and, inside, the numerous halls filled with portraits 
of the Warwick ancestors, is a veritable paradise of splendor. Out 
of the different windows of the castle there are magnificent views 
of the surrounding valley with glimpses here and there of the little 
Avon where it worms its way out from among the trees. The 
castle is still occupied by the Earl of Warwick, but during his 
absence visitors are admitted, a concession which reflects great 
credit upon the democracy of the owner. We did not have the 
pleasure of seeing Lady Warwick, but we saw her portrait, and 
if it is a fair likeness, she is undoubtedly one of the most beauti- 
ful women in England ; for England is not noted, in these modern 
days, for beautiful women. 




IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND— To^er of London-Home of Shakespt 
Warvj'ick Castle — Melrose Abbey 



Rural and Historic England. 525 



&■■ 



Kenilworth, made famous by Scott's novel bearing that name, 
is a castle, now in ruins, about eight miles from Warwick. All 
that remains of the once magnificent structure are three towers, 
more or less brokenly connected by ivy-covered walls. These 
three towers were built at different times, the first in the four- 
teenth, the last in the first of the eighteenth century. But the 
most interesting fact in connection with this old castle is that it 
was the home of the Earl of Leicester, the favorite of Queen 
Elizabeth. There is a story that the Earl once entertained the 
Queen there for nineteen days. Great preparations were made 
for the occasion, the Earl going so far as to erect a new tower 
for the Queen to stay in and to make a breach in the wall through 
which she might pass. The prospects seemed most brilliant for the 
Earl until one night when he and his gentlemen guests were mak- 
ing merry in an upper chamber, Elizabeth, while walking in the 
gardens, came upon Amy Robsart, to whom the Earl was secretly 
married, but whom he had kept locked in a dungeon in a distant 
part of the castle. By bribing the guard she had gotten out of her 
prison and was about to make good her escape when she came 
upon her high and mighty rival. Of course that put an end to 
the festivities. Elizabeth returned to London and Amy Robsart 
was carried away to her death. This formed the basis of Scott's 
great novel. 

Other prisoners besides Amy Robsart were confined in the dun- 
geon of Kenilworth Castle. There were Robert Bruce, the Scot- 
tish patriot, and the Duchess of Gloucester, who languished in a 
cell twenty-five feet deep, without light or fresh air for two years. 
When one thinks of the horrible atrocities practiced upon their 
victims by those old nobles, one can not but approve Cromwell's 
action when he trained his cannon upon the castle walls and razed 



526 Around the World. 

them to the ground. The pains, trouble and expense to which 
people went in the good old times, seem almost ridiculous to us 
to-day. We should congratulate ourselves that though we may 
not have the grace and polish and so-called culture of those times, 
still we do not have to spend our time and wealth protecting our- 
selves against our fellowmen. There is just enough left of Kenil- 
worth Castle to preserve its romance and to remind us of the 
way things "used to be." 

STRATFORD-O N- AVON . 

If, at Kenilworth we find relics of wealth and pomp and war,, 
at Stratford we observe only evidences of poverty, humbleness 
and peace. Two greater extremes could hardly be found any- 
where. William Shakespeare was born amid surroundings that 
we of the present day could but call abject. In the house of his 
birth there are stone and earthen floors, low ceilings, and walls 
uncovered with plaster, to say nothing of paper. The cooking 
was probably done in the dining room, while the youthful William 
climbed a ladder up into his garret room at night. But in spite 
of these unpretentious surroundings there emanated therefrom a 
genius such as the world had never known and who outshone his 
chivalric and pompous neighbor, Leicester, as far as day does 
the night. The Shakespeare house is too well known to need any 
description. It is a simple structure of plaster and wood, lighted 
by narrow windows of diamond-shaped glass. 

About a mile from the Shakespeare house, across the meadows,, 
is the home of Anne Hathaway, a low, rambling, thatched cottage 
Here various relics of Shakespearean days are exhibited to the- 
public at the inevitable price of i6d. There young Shakespeare- 
sat at one end of the fire place with Miss Hathaway at the other 



Rural and Historic England. 527 

end, and here he wooed and won her with the fire between them. 
That, too, was in ye good olde daes. 

It was in Stratford that Shakespeare was buried. His tomb 
is in the chancel of Trinity church, a modest country chapel of 
the church of England. On a slate-colored slab bearing the au- 
thor's name, together with the dates of his birth and death, are 
these words, roughly cut into the stone : 

Good frend, for Jesus sake forbeare 
To digg ye dust encloased heare. 

Blesse be ye man yt spares aes stones 
And curst he he yt moves my bones. 

This is the only notice of the dramatist to be found in the 
church. In addition there is a statue and a memorial theatre. 
Among the portraits of famous actors found in the theatre, Eng- 
land is represented by David Garrick ; America by Edwin Booth, 
Lawrence Barrett and Miss Ada Rehan. Covering the walls of 
the various rooms of this building are paintings of scenes in the 
various Shakespearean plays. The town of Stratford is one single 
memorial in itself. Every hotel, every store, every public house 
bears the name of Shakespeare. Here is another and more shining 
example of a man like Gray, who, amid simple surroundings, by 
a few strokes of his pen, made his name immortal and his birth 
and burial place a Mecca for pilgrims for nearly three hundred 
years. 

ROADS, PRODUCTS, RAILROADS, ETC. 

In driving through England, one is impressed by the magnificent 
roads, the most remote of which would put our Columbia streets 
to shame. English roads are made of macadam, receiving a new 
coat each year. There is an annual expense of about $250 per 
mile, which is paid by taxes upon the abutting landowners. The 



528 Around the World. 

government has charge of the funds and the improvements, and 
this is the plan we must pursue in Missouri if we ever expect to 
have the same kind of roads. 

Wheat, oats, barley, and timothy seem to be the chief English 
crops. They are cultivated on a very small scale, but every inch 
of ground is used and weeds are an unknown quantity. We have 
not seen a stalk of corn since we left America. Fences are either 
of stone, hedge or wire. Timber is too scarce to build rail or 
plank fences. 

English railroads are entirely different from ours. Cars are 
built on the compartment plan, each division holding about eight 
persons. This is very pleasant when you have a party large 
enough to fill up the whole carriage, as they call it, but it would 
not be so nice if a man were locked up there with one of his 
worst enemies. No tickets are collected while the train is in mo- 
tion; they are either taken at the beginning or end of the journey. 
Passengers never see the conductor or any other employes of the 
railway except the collector who bobs up occasionally when the 
train stops. 

These are only a few of the peculiarities to be noticed in trav- 
eling through England. An endless number might be mentioned ; 
in fact, the whole country is different from ours. It is older and 
better improved, and we have much to learn from its experience 
and history. Edwin Sydney Stephens. 

Killarney, Ireland, August 3, 1904. 




IN IRELAND 



IRELAND. 



34 



LXV. 

IRELAND, BEAUTIFUL BUT BLIGHTED. 

In natural scenery and picturesqueness Ireland is superior to 
England, but in agriculture, in cities and in the condition of the 
people she is the inferior of the two. Here is a country with 
apparently fertile fields, splendid waterways, and inhabited by a 
people who, under normal conditions, have proven themselves able 
to cope fairly well with other peoples. But this beautiful country 
is not well improved, its fields are not cultivated ; its cities do not 
look prosperous and the remnants of its population have the for- 
lorn appearance of lost hopes. For this condition of afifairs En- 
gland is largely to blame, though not wholly. By her system of 
landlords and tenants she has stifled enterprise in the Irish farmer 
and driven him from the country. Most of the young men and 
women come to America, while the elders are content to remain 
at home and eke out an existence at about $2.50 per week or less. 
The average weekly wages of operatives in the linen and lace fac- 
tories is from $2.50 to $4.00 for men and $1.25 for women and 
girls. The rent of land has been so high thqt with no hope of 
ever owning an acre of the soil he was cultivating, the farmer has 
foresworn all manner of improvement and many have abandoned 
their farms to the old women and have moved into the cities. But 
at least England has realized that she has been injuring herself, 
and at the same time getting less and less out of Ireland. Parlia- 
ment has recently passed a land law by which a tenant may obtain 
title to land after a certain number of years of renting and the 
payment in annual instalments of whatever balance may remain. 
The landlord is compelled to sell to the tenant at a price to be 
determined by arbitration if the parties to the transaction cannot 

(531) 



532 Around the World. 

agree upon terms. The conveyance is made by the government and 
in case the tenant does not have enough to pay for the land in full, 
it takes a mortgage. In this way all difficulties between landlords 
and tenants are avoided. 

FARMS, HOUSES, PEAT PRODUCTS, ETC. 

The average Irish farm covers about four acres and this is 
divided by hedge or stone fences into five or six small lots, in 
which graze one or two goats and a donkey. Then there is the 
inevitable patch of potatoes which seems to be about the only 
cultivated crop they have. Occasionally you see a half-acre of 
oats or barley, but it is the exception. Women are seen working 
in the little hay fields and hoeing in the potato patches. A portion 
of nearly every farm is devoted to the digging of peat, the chief 
article of fuel in Ireland. The process of mining this fuel is very 
simple. With the use of an ordinary spade, blocks of sod and 
earth are cut out of the ground and piled up in the sun to dry. 
Then they are ready for burning and the oldest woman in the 
family loads some of them on a two-wheeled cart, hitches a 
donkey to it and starts off to the nearest village to exchange her 
product for groceries. 

The Irish farmhouse contains a kitchen, bedroom, pig pen and 
cow shed. Two rooms embrace all these. Nearly all the houses 
have thatched roofs and plastered walls. In one end of the kitchen 
— living room — is a small fire-place, where the family meal is 
cooked. Peat is invariably used both for heating and cooking. 
It makes a fire very similar to that of hard coal. Peat is incipient 
coal. 

The Irish farmer's daily budget is very simple. On Sunday 
he and his family have half a pig's head, bread made of flour, 



Ireland, Beautiful but Blighted. 533 

two eggs for the father and mother, and goat's milk for the 
children. On Monday the family generally dines upon the rem- 
nants of Sunday's feast; the remainder of the week they do with- 
out meat, eating eggs and bread and drinking milk. 

IRISH METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION. 

The only beast of burden is the donkey. He pulls the plow in 
the potato patch, hauls the peat to market and the farmer's family 
to church. He is the most abused inhabitant of the country and 
doubtless he holds his unenviable position because of his docility. 
i\ny other animal, even a Missouri mule, would rebel against the 
treatment that this poor beast receives. It is a common sight to 
see one little donkey pulling a cart loaded with four or five men, 
one of them sitting almost on his back, and flailing him with a 
two-inch sapling. 

Everything is on two wheels in Ireland. Instead of cabs, they 
have jaunting cars, two- wheeled carts with a seat for two people 
over each wheel. These vehicles are by far the best ones for 
seeing the country and the cities. Being very light a horse can 
carry them at a greater speed than a cab. This two-wheeled sys- 
tem extends to the family vehicles, too. Hardly any one rides in 
a carriage or covered buggy, but all classes, from the farmer with 
his donkey to the banker with his rubber-tired "car," use the other 
kind. Even the heavy transfer wagons in the cities are on two 
wheels. It may be very convenient, but the inventor of the system 
certainly was not a member of an American humane society. 

THE CITIES OF IRELAND. 

There are three principal cities in Ireland : Dublin, Belfast, and 
Cork. Like the country districts, they show signs of much 



534 Around the World. 

poverty and little wealth. This is especially true of Cork, which 
is the most typical of the country. The buildings are plain and 
the shops are small and dingy. You see no liveried carriages in 
the Irish cities such as you see in London and other English cities. 
Dublin and Cork are very dirty. The former is divided by a 
river which is an open sewer. Besides this, the streets and houses 
have the appearance of neglect and uncleanliness. Belfast is the 
most prosperous looking and at the same time the cleanest city in 
the country. It looks more American than any city we have seen. 
Besides being one of the largest shipbuilding centers in the world, 
Belfast is where we get our finest linen. 

BLARNEY CASTLE. 

The four most popular places in Ireland are Blarney Castle, 
Glengarifif, the Lakes of Killarney and the Giants' Causeway. 
Blarney Castle, which contains the famous Blarney Stone, is about 
eight or ten miles from Cork, in the south of Ireland. The Castle 
is now deserted and partially destroyed, but by climbing one hun- 
dred and eight steps in a winding stair you can reach the top of 
the tower, where the magic stone is. I know of no better way to 
describe the position of the stone than to say that it forms a part 
of the base of a collar which encircles the top of the tower, and 
is too large for it by about twelve inches. By lying on your back 
on the top of the tower wall and grasping the two iron rods that 
support the stone you can lower yourself to a sufficient osculatory 
position. This is the present way of kissing the Blarney Stone, 
and it is not very difficult, especially when you are held firmly 
by both feet and have the support of your hands in addition. 
Formerly, however, it was a more serious operation, which con- 
sisted of lowering oneself over the outside of the collar instead 



Ireland, Beautiful but Blighted. 535 

of approaching from the inside. The tradition about the stone 
is expressed in the following lines : 

"There is a stone there, whoever kisses, 
Oh ! he never misses to grow eloquint. 

'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber 
Or become a member of Parliamint. 

"A clever spouter he'll shure turn out, or 
An out-and-outer to be let alone. 

Don't hope to hinder him, or to bewilder him ; 
Shure he's a pilgrim from the Blarney Stone." 
Like all other feudal castles. Blarney has its dungeons, but 
hers are in a better state of preservation than any others we have 
seen. Each cell is just about large enough for one man to crouch 
down in. Light and air come through a hole about two and a 
half inches in diameter. The niches in which the prison chains 
were fastened are still there and show that, once a prisoner was 
bound, there was faint hope of his escape. But perhaps the most 
interesting feature about this old castle is a subterranean passage 
which lies directly under the tower. We have all read in novels 
of these mysterious entrances, but never thought of them apart 
from the general fabrication of an imaginative mind. Here, how- 
ever, is the thing in reality. The passage is about ninety feet long 
and varies in height from two to four feet. It was evidently used 
to connect the dungeons with the tower and to afford a place of 
safety in case the castle was attacked. A narrow staircase leading 
up out of the passage is now closed, but was formerly used to 
connect this part with rest of the castle. 

GLENGARIFF. 

Glengariff is a beautiful little place situated at the head of Ban- 
try Bay, an arm of the Atlantic ocean, in Southern Ireland, which 



536 Around the World. 

extends up into the mountains. There is nothing there but the 
scenery and an old fort built in 1815 to protect the harbor from 
the attacks of French vessels. High mountains, beautifully 
wooded, and cut here and there by tumbling torrents of water 
form the chief beauty of Glengariff. There is no town there but 
only three or four hotels, supported almost entirely by tourists 
who come and spend a day and night. There are no railroads in 
this section; all traveling is done by coach. 

THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 

Glengariff is in the county of Cork. Just over the mountain 
range lies the county of Kerry whose chief attraction is the Lakes 
of Killarney. This is the most beautiful section of Ireland. 
Nestled down between high mountains are three large lakes, each 
about three miles long and from one to two miles wide. The 
town of Killarney is entirely dependent upon the trade of tourists 
who visit the lakes. The place is a typical pleasure resort and 
is well supplied with hotels. In fact the hotels do the largest 
part of the business. The stores in Killarney would hardly be 
worthy of a cross-roads postoffice in Missouri. The streets are 
filled with old women and their donkey carts and with tattered 
and mud-bedraggled children, who will follow a foreigner for a 
mile begging for a penny. These youngsters are met with all over 
Ireland. On the mountain roads they will follow the coaches for 
miles, calling out something that sounds like, "something for beer, 
sir." At least that is what some American ladies understood it 
to be; but when they began exclaiming their horror that such 
small children should indulge in strong drink, the driver broke 
out in a laugh and explained that they were saying "something if 
you please, sir." By the way it is difficult to understand the Irish 



Ireland, Beautiful but Blighted. 537 

or the English language as spoken by many of these people. The 
language is the same as ours, but the emphasis and pronunciation 
is very different. 

But to return to Killarney. Like Glengariff the chief attrac- 
tion of the place is the scenery, although it is claimed that there 
is good fishing in the lakes. Few tourists, however, go there for 
anything but to see the lakes and the mountains. The three lakes 
are called the Upper, Lower and Middle. Their beauty is best 
appreciated by rowing upon them. In this way one can appreciate 
the size of the mountains rising straight up from the edge of the 
water. The different colors of green formed by the variety of 
vegetable growth on the mountain sides are most pleasing. 

The climate of southern Ireland is delightfully cool even in 
August, and it is a very pleasant place to spend the summer. 
The only drawback to it is that rain falls very nearly every day 
and with very little warning. But it stops as suddenly as it comes, 
and, strange to say, no matter how wet you get, you suffer no ill 
effects. Killarney, with its lakes, its mountains, and numerous 
good hotels, is perhaps the best summer resort in Ireland. The 
next most popular resort is Portrush and with it the Giants' Cause- 
way. These are at the opposite end of the island at the most north- 
ern point of Ireland. Portrush, a favorite bathing place, is re- 
markable for its excellent beach. A great many people from En- 
gland spend the summer there. 

THE TROUBLE WITH IRELAND. 

This finishes our travels in Ireland. We have gone from Dub- 
lin to Cork, and from Bantry to Portrush. Between these places 
lies some of the prettiest scenery, and apparently the most fertile 
soil that we have seen since we left America. In such a region, 



538 Around the World. 

especially as it is so closely allied to England, one might expect 
to find a dense and thriving population. But on the contrary we 
have traveled miles and miles without seeing half a dozen houses, 
and those were of the poorest kind. Ireland is very thinly settled. 
Only here and there is a village with ten or twelve little thatched 
cottages. In fifty years the country has lost half its population. 
In 1855 it had a population of eight millions; now it has four 
millions. Most of the young men and women have gone to i.\mer- 
ica, while their parents and grandparents have remained at home 
to live in poverty. A town of Ireland fills one with compassion 
and pity for these unfortunate people. When he remembers the 
poets, the statesmen, the orators, the men and women of genius 
in all lines who render the name of Ireland illustrious one can 
but be impressed not only with sympathy, but with a certain 
indignation that the cruel hand of fortune should have dealt so 
harshly with a people beloved and admired the world over. 

In wit and humor, in the sparkle of spontaneous genius, in 
eloquence and in the realm of the emotional and the imagination 
the Irishman holds a unique place in the world's history. He 
has not only enriched literature, but he has intensified patriotism 
and has made love of country a holier sentiment. May the day 
not be distant when he may be relieved from the thraldom in 
which he has been so long held, and when his emerald isle 
may emerge from the shadow, which was never darker that it is 
to-day. Edwin Sydney Stephens. 

Belfast, August 8, 1904. 




SCOTLAXD—AhhoUsford, Home of Sir JFalter Scott— Ayr, Home of Robert 
Bunis — Loc/i Lomond 



SCOTLAND. 



LXVI. 

SCOTLAND AND THE BRITISH ISLES GENERALLY. 

The land of literature is the land of beautiful scenery. Shakes- 
peare had his "gentle Avon," Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge 
their Windermere, Ambleside, and Derwentwater, Robert Burns, 
his "Bonnie Doone," and Sir Walter Scott, his Midlothian. There 
seems to be something in the very mountains and lakes of north- 
ern England to fill the soul with song and verse. There is 
Lake Windermere lying peacefully in the green-wooded hills of 
Furness, a narrow sheet of water winding for fourteen miles in 
and out of shady coves and decorated here and there with beau- 
tiful little islands. A man could hardly help being poetical amid 
such surroundings. Poetry crops out in the names common to 
this section — Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick. 
These were the haunts of the English Lake poets. It was here 
that Wordsworth and his sister and Coleridge delighted to take 
their strolls through the cool sequestered glades, and follow the 
winding paths over the neighboring mountains. No doubt in so 
doing they would labor tediously up a long incline and finally 
come to the summit where they could look down on one side and 
see the green valleys, dotted here and there with cozy little cot- 
tages, and across on the opposite mountain they could see perpen- 
dicular white streaks where torrents tumbled down to water the 
meadows below. On the other side, across the green tops of pine, 
birch and yew trees they saw the lakes, great basins of water 
held high above the sea in the lap of the mountains. And if the 
poets strayed as far as Glaramara they looked down into the peace- 

(541) 



542 Around the World. 

ful Derwentwater surrounding an ancient castle with traditions 
inviting poetic celebration. Who could be prosaic here? Even 
we cold and commercial Americans are thrilled with its beauty. 

AYR, THE HOME OF BURNS. 

If Windermere and Derwentwater were grand enough to in- 
spire Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge, Ayr and the Doone 
were simple enough to give birth to "Tam O'Shanter" and the 
"Cotter's Saturday Night." Along the banks of the Bonnie Doone 
the poet Burns was born, reared and buried. It was about this 
region that most of his poetry was written. There still stands 
the humble cot where he was born and where his father, the 
"priest-like farmer" lived and died. There the poet whiled away 
an aimless life, making poetry, as he ploughed in the fields, as 
he wandered over the mountains or while he loafed about the 
village tavern. There are the ruins of the old Allaway Kirk where 
Tam O'Shanter looked in on the night of his terrible ride and saw 
Old Nick directing the witches' dance; and there are the Twa 
Brigs O'Doone that the poet has made so famous by his verses. 
It was the simple things that inspired Burns, and no matter what 
he might be doing, if his sentiments were once aroused, he stop- 
ped to express them in poetry. In this way his Ode to a Mouse 
where are found the famous lines : "The best laid schemes o' mice 
and men gang aft a-gley" and that other unmentionable ode where 
he exclaims : 

"Oh wad the power some giftie gie tis 
To see ourselves as ithers see us." 
were written. No one but a genius could have drawn such elo- 
quent sentiment from such simple surroundings. 



Scotland and the British Isles Generally. 543 

THE SCOTCH LAKES AND THE TROSSACHS. 

Within fifty miles of Glasgow lies the most majestically beau- 
tiful scenery in Britain. For some twenty or thirty miles there 
is one succession of clear and placid lakes, heather-covered moun- 
tains and green-pastured valleys. On the south is Loch Lomond 
stretching for twenty miles through the foothills until it reaches 
the majestic Ben Lomond which crowns it. The lake is not mo- 
notonously regular, but finds its way in and out of shady alcoves 
and around projecting headlands, presenting constantly new and 
beautiful pictures to the eye. 

At the head of Loch Lomond we left the lake and ascended 
the mountain range. From the top we looked back and saw Ben 
Lomond silhouetted in the morning sun and through a gap in the 
range we caught a glimpse of the lake stretching off to the south. 
After we had followed the winding mountain road with moun- 
tains rising on both sides, all specked with grazing sheep and 
cattle, w^e came in view of Ben Venue with its massive brow 
frowning upon the gentle Lake Katrine as she lay glittering in 
the sun hundreds of feet below. A few more miles of coaching, 
a short sail across a beautiful lake and we were among the Tros- 
sachs. Here we took another coach and ascended the mountain 
range again. It was a glorious day with the sun shining bright 
upon the torrent-washed mountain side and the thermometer hov- 
ering comfortably about seventy. So we climbed and climbed, 
surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges, heather purpled and 
green. As far as the eye could reach there was nothing but the 
wilderness of peaks over-hanging a narrow valley below us. Fin- 
ally we reached the summit of our climb and began to descend, 



544 Around the World. 

still with our view of the outside world cut off. But suddenly 
as we rounded a curve there burst upon us a panorama of mar- 
velous beauty and grandeur. Stretching for thirty miles from 
north to south, and rising gently towards the west lay the rich 
valley of the Forth. The golden waving grain, the green and 
rolling meadows, the pasture land watered by the serpentine little 
Forth formed an enormous cornucopia of plenty and beauty. 

At the foot of the mountains we came upon the little village of 
Aberfoyle where we took the train for Edinburgh. 

EDINBURGH. 

This is the greatest city we have seen. I do not mean that it is 
great in point of size or by reason of its commercial importance, 
but on account of its beauty, its quaintness and its historical sig- 
nificance. The city is situated on several hills whose slopes are 
not built up with rambling houses such as we have in some of our 
hilly American cities, but they are terraced and covered with beau- 
tiful flowers and shrubbery. Princess street, the main thorough- 
fare in Edinburgh, is said to be one of the most beautiful streets 
in the world. It is lined on one side with business houses, which, 
by the way, have considerable architectural beauty ; and on the op- 
posite side are the Princess Gardens, the public park of the city. 
To the west rises the commanding Castle Rock, the home of the 
ancient sovereigns of Scotland. Next to the tower of London 
Edinburgh Castle is the most historically important place in Great 
Britain. Here and at Holyrood palace not far away Mary Queen 
of Scots resided. In the tower on Castle Rock the Duke of 
Argyle was imprisoned prior to his execution. The castle is now 
used as military barracks and is of course kept in a perfect state 
of preservation. Holyrood Palace, the more sumptuous of the 



Scotland and the British Isles Generally. 545 

two royal residences, is still used by the King and Queen when 
they visit Edinburgh. It was in this palace that Rizzio was mur- 
dered through the conspiracy of Lord Darnley and the enemies of 
the ill-fated queen. 

Edinburgh, like London, is full of monuments and memorials 
of Scotland's and England's great men. On the top of one of its 
many hills stands a majestic tower in memory of Lord Nelson 
and in the beautiful Princess Gardens is the splendid memorial 
to Sir Walter Scott. It was around Edinburgh that many of his 
stories centered, notably the "Heart of Midlothian." The hero- 
ine of this novel was imprisoned in the central part of the city. 

My impressions of Edinburgh, before I saw it, were that it was 
a smoke-clouded city, bristling with church steeples, but these 
impressions were erroneous. Although it is a city of churches, 
it is not gloomy at all. On the contrary it is perhaps the brightest 
and freshest city in the British Isles. The air is pure and bracing 
and when the bright sunlight falls upon the beautiful terraces and 
flower gardens it gives them the freshness of spring. 

ABBOTSFORD^ DRYBURGH AND MELROSE. 

Not far from Edinburgh are Abbotsford, Melrose Abbey and 
Dryburgh Abbey, the home, the favorite haunt, and the grave of 
Sir Walter Scott. Abbotsford is an ideal author's home. It 
commands a magnificent view of the Tweed with mountains ris- 
ing in the background, while surrounding the mansion are woods 
and gardens, the latter designed and cared for by the author him- 
self. The house is a veritable museum of armor, pictures and 
curios. Scott seemed to have a great fondness for collecting lit- 
tle mementos to which any sentiment attached. For instance he 
had in his library a whole case of trinkets presented to him by 
35 



546 Around the World. 

his various friends. There are the writing case and pen of Na- 
poleon, locks of hair of the Duke of Argyle and Bonnie Prince 
Charlie, the snuff box of his old forester and even the skull of 
Robert Bruce. 

The house at Abbotsford was designed entirely by Sir Walter 
and most of the beautiful carving on the ceilings was copied from 
Melrose Abbey amid whose ruins the author delighted to sit by 
the hour weaving the plots of his novels. This old Abbey, now 
a wreck, was built in the twelfth century and has several times 
been destroyed and rebuilt. First Edward II partially demolished 
it; then it was rebuilt by David I. of Scotland only to be set fire 
to by Richard II. after camping his army within it over night. 
Then Cromwell, the iconoclast, helped to complete the destruction 
of this beautiful temple. For a long time it was used as a public 
quarry and it is said that there is hardly an old house in Melrose 
that does not contain some of the abbey's stones. 

Melrose Abbey teems with historical associations. Within its 
walls are buried Kings and Queens and mighty warriors. Here 
lie the remains of King Alexander II. and of the black Douglas 
together with the bodies of a great number of this illustrious 
family. But the most interesting fact connected with these old 
ruins is that it was under the chancel that the magic heart of 
Bruce was buried. Under a simple headstone without any pro- 
tection, or memorial tablet it lies in the center of the chancel. 
Melrose Abbey with its crumbling walls and inspiring traditions 
and Abbotsford on the Tweed, with its books and armor and 
mementos, combined with indomitable energy and determination 
made Walter Scott, the author. 

Not far away, in the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey, and in keeping 
with the tastes and sentiments of the author, Scott lies buried. 



Scotland and the British Isles Generally. 547 



SOME CONCLUSIONS AND COMPARISONS. 

A trip through England, Ireland and Scotland has enabled us 
to draw some conclusions and to compare this country with our 
own. Scenically Ireland is the grandest, but Scotland the freshest 
and prettiest of the three countries. The mountains of Ireland 
are higher and more rugged than those of Scotland, while the 
lakes of Killarney are larger, but not so beautiful as Loch Lomond 
or Loch Katrine. The rivers of Ireland run with waters of an 
amber color, while those of Scotland are clear as crystal. The 
three countries as a whole afiford more beautiful scenery than 
could be found in a similar space in the United States, but no- 
where on this side is there to be found such grandeur and such 
gorgeous coloring as we have in the western part of our country. 

Agriculturally, England is the superior section of the British 
Isles. She raises more different kinds of crops and at the same 
time in larger quantities than either of the other two. This is on 
account of the superiority of her soil. The peat and bog in Ire- 
land and Scotland render a considerable part of them unfit for 
anything but grazing purposes. The only cultivated crops in Ire- 
land are potatoes and oats. Scotland is almost entirely de- 
voted to pasturage. On her hills sheep flourish in great numbers. 
There are occasional fields of oats, hay or turnips. England raises 
wheat, oats, barley and rye chiefly. Hay is also grown to a con- 
siderable extent. In richness of soil the United States is superior 
even to England, but over here they cultivate more intensely than 
we do, fertilizing thoroughly and tilling every inch of ground. 
No corn is cultivated at all. 

In climate it would be hard to choose between England and Ire- 
land. Scotland is very pleasant during the summer but grows 



548 Around the World. 

intensely cold at other times. In the two lower countries there are 
no great extremes either of heat or cold. It is considered "ter- 
rifically hot" if the thermometer reaches eighty-five and "terrifi- 
cally cold" if it falls to five above zero. 

British city hotels are inferior to those in America. They are 
not provided with as many conveniences as ours and are, generally 
speaking, more expensive. On the other hand the English hotels 
in the smaller towns are superior to ours. They are more home- 
like and the service is better. English country hotels are largely 
under the management of women. They secure the guests, keep 
the books and even attend the bar which is part and parcel of the 
hotel office. They perform the functions of their office as well 
as men and with more courtesy. 

The railroads are so different from ours that it is difficult to 
compare them on the basis of quality. Most of the trains contain 
small compartments or carriages, with a capacity of from six to 
ten persons, which are entered from the side; so that an English 
car, instead of having a door at each end, has a long row of doors 
on each side. Tickets are collected at the station when the train 
stops. There is no way, on most trains, for the ticket collector 
to go from one compartment to another while the train is moving. 
Trains run very rapidly and as the country is very small most 
people travel in the daytime; there is therefore little need of 
sleeping cars. 

In street car facilities the United States is ahead of any of these 
countries. In many places they are still using horse cars and 
buses and where there are electric or cable cars they run very 
slow. Passengers ride on the top of omnibuses and cars in pref- 
erence to sitting inside. 

England is an older country than America and the people do 



Scotland and the British Isles Generally. 549 

things more deliberately and with greater precision. But our 
country is larger, and more prolific and we can afford to move 
rapidly and waste somewhat. Perhaps when we are as old as 
our mother we may have to do as she does. 

Edwin Sydney Stephens. 
London, August ly, 1904. 



EUROPE IN GENERAL. 



LXVII. 

SOME THINGS SEEN AND HEARD IN EUROPE. 

To the American Europe is more interesting than America. 
This is because it is novel, has so much more history and so many 
more objects of interest to entertain and instruct, situated in close 
and convenient relation to each other. There is not so much 
hurry and one is not jostled about as in this country. More 
time and opportunity are afforded to see things and the people 
are more courteous and less brusque. 

THE RAILROADS. 

Railroad travel is safer than in the United States. There is 
rarely a railroad collision and trains run on time. Nearly all 
the railroads have double tracks and the road beds are excellent, 
as are the rails and ties, the latter in several countries being of 
iron. In Great Britain the railroads, in crossing public highways, 
either run above them on bridges or under them. On the con- 
tinent there are gates and sentinels at every crossing. The cars 
in England are but little over half as large as those of the United 
States, and are divided into compartments, entrance being from 
the side. The smaller freight cars are used because they can be 
easily lowered into ships for the purpose of unloading and loading 
them. Distances are short, most of the freight is hauled to the 
British ports by steamships and there is not the need of railroads 
that there is in this country. The trains run rapidly, but their 
stops at stations are quite long. There are no bells on the engines. 

(553) 



554 Around the World. 

The way a train starts from a station is something novel as well 
as amusing. There is a series of warnings. First some one rings 
a dinner bell. Then the guard or conductor blows a mouth 
whistle. Then the engine whistles. This is followed by some 
one blowing a horn, and by the engine whistling again, and then 
the train may start or it may not. The system for handling bag- 
gage is abominable. In fact there is no system. There is no 
checking. Trunks are piled into the baggage car and each trav- 
eler claims his own at the end of his journey. The result is 
confusion and inevitable loss of baggage. Most travelers carry 
only hand baggage, a fact that adds to the burden of travel. 
Tickets are taken up at the end of the journey and not while it 
is in progress. 

GOOD ROADS. 

In public highways Europe is in advance of the United States. 
A dirt or even a gravel road is almost unknown. i\ll are of 
macadam or stone and from eighteen inches to two or three feet 
in thickness. In many places they are embowered by trees and 
are very beautiful. They are kept clean and are as smooth as 
floors. There are no tollgates. The roads are kept up by the 
government at a cost of about $250 per mile annually. But auto- 
mobiles practically monopolize them and have nearly run all other 
modes of conveyances off of them. 

NO COUNTRY PEOPLa 

Almost every body in Europe lives in the towns. There are 
but few farm houses, and outside the great estates of the nobility 
there are few residents of the country. The people live in the 
cities, towns or villages and from thence go out into the country 



Tilings Seen and Heard in Europe. 555 

and operate their farms. Many of these villages have a deserted 
look in the day time, but swarm with life at night. It is strange 
to see the rural districts of countries two thousand years old prac- 
tically uninhabited. The older a people the greater their desire to 
gather in communities and the less practicable is a scattered pop- 
ulation. 

SMALL FARMING. 

Europe is for the most part a garden truck country. There 
are no large farms as in America, unless there be the exceptions 
of big oat or barley or wheat fields in some of the estates of the 
nobility in England. Indian corn is not grown in Great Britain 
or Northern Europe and in a very limited way in Italy, France 
or Spain. The chief products are potatoes, cabbage, turnips, hay, 
oats, barley and wheat, and farms are very small, in many places 
mere garden patches. In Italy and Switzerland and much of 
Germany and France grapes are the chief, almost the only pro- 
duct. 

FRUIT. 

There is not much fruit of any kind in England, but a great 
deal upon the continent. I do not recall having seen an apple 
or a peach orchard in Great Britain, and but few in Germany, 
but the peaches and apples and grapes of Italy are excellent, un- 
surpassed in the world. Vineyards literally cover the bluffs along 
the Rhine, and all European streams and Italy and Switzerland 
are almost a continuous vineyard. In Italy the grape vines are 
run upon trees which are planted at convenient distances for that 
purpose. 



556 Around the World. 



BEASTS OF BURDEN. 

In Great Britain the beasts of burden are the horse and donkey ; 
in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland the horse, the donkey, the 
cow and the dog and in Italy oxen are used almost exclusively 
for draught work and for plowing, while little horses haul the 
cabs in the cities. In Naples every horse is small and of the 
masculine gender, and their endurance is astonishing. It is not 
uncommon to see one of these little creatures whirling at full 
speed a vehicle loaded with four or five men. In Brussels, dogs 
nearly always muzzled, are driven to carts. At times you will 
see a dog hitched up with a donkey, and again with a woman. 
An interesting spectacle is that of horses hauling vehicles while 
a basket full of oats is suspended from their heads. They eat 
as they go about. The best horses in Europe are to be found in 
France. They are imported chiefly from the Argentine Republic 
of South America and are nearly as large as the Norman horse. 
In Naples horses are driven without bits in their mouths. A con- 
trivance that presses against the head just above its mouth is used. 
In Paris the tails of nearly all the horses are cut off and the 
horses hitched to cabs have little sheep bells suspended under 
their throats. Their jingling are a perpetual babel of noise. 
The average European is merciless in his treatment of dumb 
brutes. But he is also careful in feeding them. Their food is 
weighed and fed regularly, their stables and stalls kept scrupu- 
lously clean and hence they are not troubled with flies. Besides 
the climate of Europe is more favorable to horses than is that 
of our country and they can endure much more. While not 
always the most beautiful they are the swiftest, the most powerful 
and the toughest horses in the world. The mule is practically 



r^ 




Things Seen and Heard in Europe. 557 

unknown in Europe, but the amusing little donkey is everywhere. 
Cows serve the double purpose of family milchers and doing 
draught work. 

PLACES OF INTEREST. 

The most interesting country in Europe is Great Britain. All 
parts of England and Scotland are full of interest to Americans. 
The most attractive scenery in Great Britain is in Southern Ire- 
land in Glengariff and the lakes of Killarney and in Northern 
England and in Scotland in the region of Lake Windermere, 
Lomond and Katrine and in the Trossachs. Edinburgh in many 
respects is the most attractive of British cities. Next to Great 
Britain, Italy has more points of interest to travelers. The cities 
of Venice and Rome are most fascinating. But the place which 
is most attractive in Italy to travelers is Pompeii, the buried city, 
while next in interest to it is Vesuvius. Paris is more interesting 
to the tourist than London, and the palace at Versailles, south 
of Paris, is probably the most beautiful spot in all Europe. In 
natural scenery Switzerland surpasses all other countries of Eu- 
rope if not of the world. 

AS TO CLEANLINESS. 

A gentleman who was my companion upon the steamer return- 
ing from Europe related an experience which illustrates the 
remarkable cleanliness of the European and the results of it. He 
spends each summer at Frankfort and had noticed that the hams 
at the hotel were unusually sweet and well flavored. He inquired 
the reason, and the man who reared and fed the hogs which 
yielded the meat showed him the great care he took in feeding 
■and caring for them. They were only fed the cleanliest food, 



558 Around the World. 

no slops or decaying vegetable matter of any kind. The place 
where they were confined, instead of being the ordinary filthy pen 
was kept comparatively clean at all times. There was a granitoid 
place which was washed daily and every night the hog was care- 
fully bedded down on clean straw, and so neat in his habits did 
the animal become that if at any time the keeper failed to provide 
fresh straw he would turn over the old straw he had slept on the 
night previously and himself place the fresh straw on top. More- 
over the hog himself was treated to a bath and rubbed off once 
a week. The result was that his skin was as tender and clean as 
a human being's, and his flesh after he was butchered was pure, 
tender and juicy and far more delicious than the American hog. 
The stock pens at Berlin and other European cities are kept clean 
and special attention is paid to keeping cattle as well as hogs and 
sheep in a tidy condition. The result of all this is not only to- 
obviate diseases, but to secure a more satisfactory meat than is 
possible when methods are less cleanly. This same cleanliness as 
to hogs and cattle prevails throughout England, Germany and 
most of Northern Europe, but does not exist in Italy or Turkey.. 
Few places are filthier than Naples or Constantinople. 

THE CLIMATE. 

The proximity to the sea gives nearly all European countries 
a constant supply of fresh, pure air and the northern latitudes 
relieve the summers of oppressive heat. The summer nights are 
invariably pleasant both in Great Britain and upon the continent. 
In Scotland, England and Ireland in July and August the weather 
is ideal, and in October it is equally pleasant in Italy. If the trav- 
eler will start in England in June and end in Italy in October he 
will be blessed with delightful weather at all times. 



Things Seen and Heard in Europe. 559 



HOTELS. 

European hotels are very different from those in America. 
But they are very Hke each other. A hotel in England, Ireland 
and Scotland is practically duplicated in its methods of manage- 
ment all over the continent. The only difference is that in Great 
Britain outside of London the hotels are managed chiefly by 
women, v^hile on the continent they are conducted by men. In 
England the clerks and cashiers are women, who sometimes also 
fill the place of barmaids. There are no lobbies in the hotels 
as in this country. The rooms are clean and neat, and the fare 
for the most part good. Meals are served a la carte or table 
d' bote at prices about the same as in the United States. Here 
are the three meals served in nine-tenths of the hotels of Europe : 
Breakfast — coffee and cold rolls and eggs or honey or marmalade ; 
lunch — soup, roast-beef, chicken, dessert; dinner — soup, fish, 
roast-beef, vegetables, chicken, lettuce, dessert. Coffee as a rule 
is not good, and warm bread is unknown. Corn-bread and bis- 
cuit have never found their way across the Atlantic. As a rule 
waiters are men robed in dress-suits. Tipping is a nuisance 
that is universal. Waiters, porters, chambermaids, eleva- 
tor and bell boys, all levy tribute upon travelers. Nowhere else 
in the world has the commercial value of politeness be- 
come such a fine art as with an European hotel employee. His 
smile, tone of voice, and general attitude embody a mute appeal j - - t 
which are well nigh irresistible. Hotel rates are about the same ^ ' 
in Europe as in America. There are no barber shops or boot- ^'^/'^/'H^ ^ 
blacks in the hotels. Barbers are called hairdressers and will come ^'' rtr _ 
to one's room in the hotel and ply their avocation when sent for. ... ^ 

'^ < it 



560 Around the World. 



AMERICANS IN EUROPE. 

European railroads and hotels swarm with American tourists. 
Hence it becomes necessary for all employees to speak English, 
and there is no difficulty in getting about on account of ignorance 
of the language. But a knowledge of French or of German is 
very helpful. The traveler sometimes encounters situations where 
a lack of knowledge of the language renders him helpless. In 
these days of foreign travel it is important that every boy and 
girl should speak German and French and if possible Italian. 
The most important of these is French. 

NO FLIES OR MOSQUITOES. 

One of the merits of Europe, especially of Great Britain and 
northern Europe, is its exemption from flies and mosquitoes. 
Possibly they may be there, but they did not exhibit themselves 
during the past summer. The only flies we saw were at Pom- 
peii in Southern Italy and the only mosquitoes were in Venice. 
The absence of flies is attributed to the great cleanliness in the 
cities and the houses. The streets, stables and rear premises are 
kept clean at all times. There is also but little if any malaria 
in northern Europe and only in southern Europe in the rainy 
season. 

COURTESY AND CULTURE. 

The average European is both courteous and cultivated. It 
matters not what his station in life, whether he be a nobleman 
or a hotel waiter, he enunciates distinctly, speaks correctly, and 
gives evidences of culture. Many of the employees at hotels and 




/A llALl—The Coliseum and Forum in Rome— Pompeii and Bay of Naples 



Things Seen and Heard in Europe. 561 

upon the railroads are college graduates and speak several lan- 
guages. Besides they are universally courteous and polite. There 
is an absence of that brusqueness characteristic of the average 
American who deals with the public. In Italy the men kiss each 
other on both cheeks when they meet, besides embracing one 
another, and are more affectionate than the women are one to 
the other. 



36 



LXVIII. 

A LAST WORD ABOUT EUROPE. 

Of European cities Paris is most popular with Americans. 
Many of the hotels are filled with American guests. The streets 
swarm with Americans, and it is the exceptional Parisian estab- 
lishment in which some one does not speak English. The Champs 
Elysees, the broad thoroughfare extending from the Arc de 
Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, and the garden of the 
Tuileries, now a public park, is the most beautiful street in the 
world. Beyond the Arc de Triomphe is the Bois de Bologne, the 
Forest Park of Paris. The column Vendome, the tomb of Napo- 
leon, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Grand Opera are the chief 
features of interest. Architecturally and commercially the city is 
inferior to New York. The buildings are not specially hand- 
some and the stores, fitly called "shops," contain less than can 
be found in those of any great American city. There are many 
jewelry and millinery stores, but practically everything they con- 
tain is in the front show windows. Socially and politically the 
city is impure and corrupt. 

AT SHAKESPEAIIE's HOME. 

One of the most interesting regions in all Europe is that wherein 
is situated Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. Not 
far distant are Warwick and Kenilworth castles and the interven- 
ing country is picturesque and beautiful. The little river Avon 
flows through grassy banks and under bending elms and is a 
most delightful feature of the landscape. But Stratford itself, 
with its numerous spots and buildings so intimately associated 
with the life of the great dramatist, is a place from which the vis- 

(562) 



A Last Word About Europe. 563 

itor can scarcely tear himself away. There is the house, a plain 
two-story structure in which he was born, and there the little 
church in which his ashes rest. There also is a theater built as 
a memorial of him where his plays are enacted and there is a 
monument to his memory, upon which are chiseled these beautiful 
lines from his plays : 
"Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy 

rest; 
Consideration like an angel came and whipt the offending Adam 

out of him. 
I am not only wdtty myself, but the cause that is in other men. 
Out, out brief candle, life's but a walking shadow, a poor player 

that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard 

no more." 
There is something peculiarly touching and impressive to stand 
amid the scenes so closely related to the world's greatest genius 
and to note how humble and simple were his birth and life. A few 
days later we visited the birthplace and home of Robert Burns 
at Ayr and could but be impressed with the similarity between 
the homes and habits of life of these two who easily are the most 
honored of all British poets. 

TWO IMPRESSIVE SPOTS. 

The two places which left the deepest impress upon me were 
quite distant from each other and very different in the history 
they recalled and the sentiments they evoked. One was the country 
churchyard near Windsor and not far from London wherein Gray 
wrote and to which he dedicated his elegy. We visited it at near 
the close of day as the "glimmering landscape faded upon the 
sight" and w^hen the holy hush of evening was in sympathy with 



564 Around the World. 

all the tender sentiments of that, the most remarkable of poems. 
We read the poem beneath "the yew tree's shade," within sight 
of "the ivy-mantled tower" and fancied we could hear the "drowsy 
tinkhngs" of "the distant folds." The curfew still "tolls the knell 
of parting day" at Windsor not far distant, and the picture of "the 
weary ploughman" and "the lowing herds" is as ever present as 
when the poem was written. It is said that Gray spent seven 
years in writing this poem. It gave his name to immortality. 

Another spot which fills one with emotions thrilling and inex- 
pressible is the palaces of the Caesars at Rome. Probably no 
other one place in the world calls up such interesting history as 
that in the center of modern Rome wherein lie the Tiber, the 
Forum, the Coliseum, the Circus Maximus, the Arches of Con- 
stantine and Titus and the palaces of Augustus Caesar, Domitian 
and Caligula. The work of exhuming has been in rapid progress 
of late years until nearly all the Forum has been dug up and it is 
possible now to get a definite idea not only of the splendid archi- 
tecture of the period, but also of the general appearance of all the 
most interesting and important structures of ancient Rome. Stand- 
ing amidst these classic ruins it is not difficult in imagination to 
repeople them with the kings, the senators, the orators, the soldiers, 
who once made Rome glorious. 

SOME THINGS EUROPE DOES NOT HAVE. 

It is difficult to get a drink of pure water in most of Europe 
and the wine is a poor substitute. The cofifee is poor and so are 
the cigars. Cream is practically unknown, and milk is inferior. M/^t^ 
By the way, in Italy, notably in Naples, goat milk is drunk, and J s-\jA^ 
the goats are driven in herds to the dwellings and milked in 
front of them. Poor provisions are made for heating the hotels, 



ivUt/^ 







m 





IN PARIS— Column Vendome—Xapolrons Tomh—Arch of Triumph— The 
Madeliene and The Place de la Opera 



A Last Word About Europe. 565 

and in some of the hotels the only light furnished is candles. 
Everywhere guests must supply their own soap. 

ART IN ITALY. 

Italy is a country of vineyards and art. At stations along the 
railroad will be seen small shops where sculpture is made and 
sold, and the cities are filled with statuary and paintings. In 
Venice the most beautiful glass is manufactured and sold; in 
Florence Mosaics and in Naples coral and tortoise shells. All 
these cities teem with galleries of paintings and sculpture, ancient 
and modern. At the risk of offending the judgment of critics 
we must be permitted to express the opinion that the modern 
art is superior to the ancient. 

CROMWELL AND NAPOLEON. 

The two great characters of modern times who have left the 
deepest impress upon the history of Europe are Oliver Cromwell 
and Napoleon Bonaparte. All of the titled monarchs of all the 
European nations have not wrought such changes in government 
or civilization or accomplished results so abiding or left such en- 
during fame as the great commoner of England and the little 
corporal from Corsica. And yet neither was of royal birth. Both 
owed their renown to their own indomitable energy and genius. 

WORK WOMEN TOO HARD. 

The grudge I have against Belgium and Germany and Switzer- 
land is that they put too much hard manual labor upon women. 
In these countries women plant, and plow, drive wagons, stack 
and load hay, in fact do all kinds of farm work, however burden- 
some. They seem to do more of this kind of work than do the 



566 Around the World. 

men. It is difficult to understand how they can do so much work 
of this kind and also care for their homes and rear children. They 
do not object to it, and appear to be healthy and strong, but the 
work is too hard for women. 

EUROPEAN LANDSCAPES. 

It would be difficult to imagine anything more picturesque than 
rural England. The smooth roads, lined with overlapping elms, 
the stone fences buried in ivy, the clear and beautiful streams, the 
green fields, the undulating country, the harmonious and equable 
distribution of forests, and fields or meadow, the tasteful archi- 
tecture of the homes, and an occasional ruined castle make a com- 
bination of pleasing and attractive beauty not equalled on the 
continent or anywhere else. In Belgium, Germany and Italy the 
country, except in mountainous regions is flat and not specially 
attractive. All forests in Europe are young, and in France where 
a tree is cut down another one has to be planted in place of it. 

RAILROAD TUNNELS. 

There are few railroad tunnels in Great Britain for the reason 
that the country is not mountainous. But in Switzerland and 
Italy they are very numerous. In Switzerland the St. Gothard 
tunnel is nine and a half miles long and it requires eighteen min- 
utes to run through it. Mount Cenis tunnel on the border between 
Italy and France is eight and a half miles long and the time in 
running through it is twenty-six minutes. Instead of running 
around mountains in Europe railroads go through them. Between 
Boulogne and Florence there is a constant succession of tunnels 
and between Pisa and Genoa there are ninety-eight in sixty-six 
miles. 



A Last Word About Europe. 567 

AS TO MORALS. 

There is no more immorality in Europe than in America. While 
more wine and beer are drunk there is apparently less drunken- 
ness than in our country where whiskey is the chief beverage. 
I do not remember to have seen a drunken man in Germany, 
Italy or France, but I saw many thousands drinking beer and 
wine. I did see drunken men in England and Scotland where 
whiskey is drunk. Religious conditions are, however, hardly 
as good as in our country. As to the honesty of the people the 
European is no worse than the American. The traveler suffers 
but little if any from attempts to defraud or swindle him. 

CONCERNING WOMEN. 

If the truth must be told the European woman is not as pretty 
as the American woman. The hard outdoor work they have to do 
renders them more masculine. The prettiest women in Europe are 
in France, but even in that country there is a lack of that refine- 
ment and delicacy which is characteristic of American women. 
Usually when you see a pretty woman in Europe you can count 
on her being from America. The sight of women smoking cigar- 
ettes and carrying canes is one met with in Europe that rather 
shocks the sensibilities of the American. 

HOUSEKEEPING IN PARIS. 

In Paris the cooks are in charge of the homes. They buy the 
provisions and supply the table, and by law are entitled to five 
per cent commission upon all purchases. In other words the ten- 
ants of the home board with the cooks who are paid to buy, cook 
and serve the food, the housekeeper making a separate arrange- 



568 Around the World. 

ment for the care of the rooms. Servants are nearly all white. 
There are very few negroes in Europe. Only the wealthy employ 
servants. The European is much more economical than the Amer- 
ican. X 

AS TO BUILDINGS. 

It is very rare that a handsome residence is seen. Most of the 
dwellings are plain. All houses are covered with red tile and 
nearly all are of yellow stone or brick. There are no frame build- 
ings anywhere. There are no skyscrapers in the cities as in this 
country, and few buildings of over four stories. As a rule build- 
ings are two stories, and nearly all of them have an ancient look. 
In Switzerland and Italy it is not uncommon to see the second 
story of residences filled with hay. 

CATHEDRALS AND PALACES. 

By all odds the handsomest structures are the cathedrals and 
royal palaces. In England the Episcopalians have the finest cathe- 
drals and on the continent the Catholics. The greatest cathedral 
in Europe is that of St. Peter's at Rome. St. Paul's in the same 
city is also a splendid structure. Next to these are St. Mark's 
in Venice or the cathedral at Milan. In England Westminster 
Abbey and St. Paul's at London, and the cathedrals at York, 
Durham, Glasgow and Chester are specially notable. The palaces 
of the kings in Germany, England, and Italy are gorgeous in 
their furnishings. 

EUROPEAN RIVERS. 

There are no rivers in Europe of half the size of the Missouri 
or Mississippi. The Thames in England, the Seine in France, 



A Last Word About Europe. 569 

the Rhine, the Tiber or the Po are not larger than is the Gas- 
conade at its mouth. They are made navigable by dredging and 
by constant improvement, and are utilized to the fullest extent. 
The Tiber is a muddy stream, as is the Thames, but most of the 
European rivers are clear. The Rhine is the most picturesque, 
but not as much so as the Hudson, of New York. 

THE PREVALENCE OF SOLDIERS. 

If we are to judge from the number of soldiers to be met with 
everywhere European countries must be in constant apprehen- 
sion of war. At least ten times as many soldiers are seen by a 
tourist in Europe as can be seen in traveling through America. 
They are everywhere, along the highways, in the cities, at the 
stations. Militarism is in the air, all trainmen and policemen dress 
in military uniform as do even the porters in the hotels. More 
soldiers are seen in Italy than in any other country, although 
there are many in Germany and England. The Swiss, Scotch and 
English have the most attractive uniforms. 



FOREIGN MISSIONS. 



LXIX. 

FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

The chief problem of the age is that of Christian missions. 
Over twenty-one milHons of dollars are being contributed by 
Christian nations to support sixteen thousand missionaries in 
heathen lands. To these contributions may be added several 
millions of dollars raised upon the foreign field and many thou- 
sands of native workers who are aiding the missionaries in their 
work. 

The missionaries and contributions are nearly all from America 
and the British Isles, being about equally divided between them. 
Only a small proportion is from other lands. 

Foreign missionary endeavor, as we know it, is about a century 
old, but its chief progress has been within the past decade, having 
been nearly as great within that period as it had been in the nine 
decades prior. And yet the fact remains that only about one-third 
of the human race is under the influence of Christianity. The 
other two-thirds are heathen, or to state it differently, five hun- 
dred millions are dominated by Christianity and one thousand 
millions by heathenism. 

We have said that the most important problem of the day is 
that of missions. This is strictly true. For despite the carping of 
critics or the opposing view of unsympathetic and superficial 
observers the fact is that the Christian missionary has been and 
is the pioneer of progress and enlightenment in all parts of the 
world. There are very few sections of the earth in which he may 
not be found, and there is not a country which has been opened 
up to civilization but that its lighted torches have been first carried 
there by these evangels of progress. 

(573) 



574 Around the World. 

Today the chief work of education, of medical relief, and of 
rescue from death by starvation and in other forms is being ac- 
complished not by statesmanship, not by commerce, not by war, 
but by these brave, self-sacrificing missionaries of Christianity. 

We make this statement after having visited many of the 
heathen lands and made personal investigation of existing condi- 
tions. 

One of the reasons which prompted this tour was that such in- 
vestigation might be made and that by personal observation a 
true knowledge might be obtained as to the actual facts concern- 
ing which there is a wide diversity of opinion. 

In traveling around the world by way of the east the first spot 
at which one touches, the Hawaiian Islands, is both an object 
lesson and a prophecy of Christian missions. It is an evidence 
of what they have done and may do. The islands are called 
"The Paradise of the Pacific." Nature has wrought wonderfully 
to make them in scenery, in climate, and in vegetation what this 
title would indicate. But man has made their intellectual and 
moral adornment, their development and their culture a reflex of 
their physical conditions. Less than a centur}', but little over a 
half century ago they were the abode of savages. Some say they 
were infested with cannibals, but this the natives of the present 
day deny. They were redeemed by missionaries, who introduced 
civilization, planted the banners of peace and progress and did all 
the pioneer work of their present prosperous and highly en- 
lightened state. The world contains no more striking and con- 
crete testimonial to the beneficence of Christian missions than the 
Hawaiian Islands. 

When Commodore Perry entered Mississippi Bay in 1853 and 
first unlocked the doorway to Japan he had aboard a Baptist 



Foreign Missions. 575 



'& 



missionary. From that day to this there has been a steady 
growth of missions in that remarkable country. While there 
are less than 70,000 Protestant Christians there can be no deny- 
ing that Christianity has been the initial force that has brought 
27,000 public schools, two large Universities, 2,000 higher educa- 
tional institutions and has made education compulsory within 
twenty-five years. 

While it is true that Christianity has not the hold in Japan 
that it has in some other countries it is plain that heathenism 
is decaying. One has but to visit its heathen temples, beautiful 
as some of them are, to be convinced that Buddhism and 
Shintoism have no longer the hold upon the people they once had. 

The religious problem in Japan now is infidelity, not heathen- 
ism, no religion rather than a false one. 

Confucianism, which for over three thousand years, has held 
the millions of China within its grasp, has within the past few 
years been gradually yielding its hold upon the people. Many 
of its temples have been dismantled and destroyed, or converted 
into schools and those that remain are the resort chiefly of the 
mendicant, vicious or ignorant classes. 

All over the empire are splendid Christian colleges and ele- 
mentary training schools, established and sustained by mission 
funds, which are accomplishing a great work in the elevation 
and education of the people. There are 389 intermediate, high 
schools and colleges and 2196 day schools attended by over 54,000 
students. All these are being instructed in western learning, a 
great improvement upon the effete native schools, where students 
are only taught the ancient Confucian classics which are of no 
practical value, and in the study of which the memory is abnor- 
mally exercised in knowledge that is useless and to the neglect 



576 Around the World. 

of other faculties. No wonder that the people are like so many 
children. 

It has been a hundred years since the first missionary, Robert 
JMorrison, went to China. Now there are 4000 missionaries in 
the Empire and the number is increasing continually. Since the 
suppression of the Boxer rebellion the treatment of mission- 
aries has greatly improved, and the attitude of the government 
has become very friendly. The unselfishness of the mission- 
aries in ministering to the starving in periods of famine and in 
not resenting persecution has finally made a deep impress upon 
the Chinese mind which has hitherto not understood how there 
could be other motive for human action than that of selfishness. 

Missions in China as elsewhere are conducted in four dififerent 
ways, viz. : By evangelism, by education, by medical hospitals and 
attendance, and by house to house visiting. All four methods are 
employed with great efifect. 

To work in either of these departments requires a knowledge 
of the language, tact, patience, energy, consecration and special 
preparation. The popular idea that any sort of an incompetent 
or sentimentalist will answer for a missionary is egregious 
error. There is no kind of effort which requires a wider range of 
high qualities. It was a pleasure to note that the missionaries, 
both men and women, were people of above the average type 
engaged in similar work in the home land. While their labors 
are onerous they seem passionately in love with them and in 
not a single instance was one heard to express a desire to abandon 
them. 

It is difficult to tell in which department of mission work the 
most good is being accomplished. The people flock to hear preach- 
ing, and are attentive and devout, equally if not more so than 



Foreign Missions. 577 

are those in so-called Christian lands. Some of them are quite 
intelligent and active Christians. 

There can be no doubt of the valuable work done in the 
schools and colleges. The truth is that what is being effected in 
the way of education is almost exclusively the work of mission- 
aries. But for the latter the people would be in the grossest 
ignorance. There are numerous excellent universities where are 
taught courses of study equal to those in the average American 
school of higher learning and the students are equally as apt as 
in the home land. The Bible is taught in them all. Thus the 
seeds of truth are sown at a receptive and impressionable period. 

Too much can not be said in praise of the hospitals, of the 
medical relief afiforded these people so long the victims of charla- 
tanry and ignorance. But for the missionaries they would still 
be without relief. The lives saved during the times of famine 
alone should be more than compensation for all the money ex- 
pended in missions. The physical attention given to patients 
is always supplemented by religious instruction and evangelistic 
appeal. 

The work of house to house visiting is one of the most gra- 
cious and effective forms of mission work. It is chiefly done 
by women and the good effected can not be overstated. Woman 
is the great burden bearer in China and their home life is a dark 
one which is greatly brightened by the ministry of Christian 
women. 

Here are some of the practical benefits which Christianity 
has brought to China : 

Elevation of woman. 

Suppression of footbinding. 

Gradual abolition of opium habit and traffic. 



578 Around the World. 

Education of the people. 

Intelligent medical attention. 

Good government. 

Purity of the Home. 
These and many other blessings it has brought, is bringing 
not to China only but to all heathen lands. 

Christianity has solved for Japan the vexed problem of Korea. 
This hermit nation, the source of two wars, one between China 
and Japan, and another between Russia and Japan, and whose 
turbulence and lawlessness have been giving Japan ceaseless 
trouble, is about to become a peaceful, law-abiding community 
under the elevating and regenerating power of Christian mis- 
sions. One of the greatest Christian movements in the history 
of the race has been in constantly accelerating progress there for 
several years. Over a thousand churches have been organized 
and the evangelistic spirit has seized the people with such power 
that robbery and marauding have ceased, industry has supplant- 
ed idleness and what Japan has hitherto found it impossible to 
accomplish by force the Prince of Peace is bringing about 
through His benign and enlightening agencies. 

We may look in vain for any parallel in history to the trans- 
formation that has been wrought in the inhabitants of the Phi- 
lippine Islands since America came in possession of them ten 
years ago. That this change has been due more to the influence 
of Christianity than to all other causes will be conceded. 

A change scarcely less remarkable is that which has taken 
place in Burmah since Adoniram Judson began his work there 
a hundred years ago. While less than 75,000 out of the six mil- 
lion are Christian the change has been most marked in the splen- 



Foreio^n Missions. 579 



'o 



did system of education, the hospitals and churches and the eleva- 
tion of the people. 

It has been but little over a century since the English cobbler, 
William Carey, began his work in India, but nowhere has Chris- 
tianity left a deeper impress than in that idolatrous land. Its 
great universities, its normal and public schools, its hospitals and 
its churches are striking memorials of nearly all the elevation 
that has come to that unhappy people within this period. 

In Egypt, in Palestine and Turkey the work of Christian ele- 
vation is in progress. Nowhere in the world are there within 
a community of equal size a larger number of intelligently con- 
ducted hospitals than in Jerusalem. They may be found all over 
Palestine, orphanages, eye and leper and surgical and other 
hospitals upon the spots where the Savior began His work of 
healing and of love. 

It is not possible within the compass of this paper to give facts 
and figures indicative of the growth and development of Christian- 
it}^ in foreign lands or to point out in detail the moral, intellectual, 
physical and religious benefits it has brought to the people. Suf- 
fice it to say that they are plainly manifest to all unprejudiced 
observers. 

That Christianity is upon the threshold of greater victories 
there would seem to be no doubt. It has but entered upon its 
work, has but begun to demonstrate its superiority to the native 
religions and to attract the considerate attention of the people. 

The world is at peace. The nations whose commercial and 
intellectual and social power is beginning to obtain supremacy 
in heathen lands are Christian nations. The unselfish and ele- 
vating influences of Christianity as compared with the selfish 
and degrading characteristics of the heathen religions are grad- 



580 Around the World. 

ually through schools and hospitals and the godly and exemplary 
lives of the missionaries making themselves felt and winning the 
approval of the people. 

Those in the home lands who are contributing to the support 
of missions in foreign fields are discovering that money so ap- 
propriated is not wasted, but is wisely invested and is yielding 
large results both in the good it is doing to its beneficiaries and 
to the reflex action it is exerting upon those who are fulfilling the 
Divine Commands and who are reaping the Divine promise that 
"it is more blessed to give than to receive," and the other like 
unto it, "give and it shall be given unto you," "for with the same 
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." 



LXX. 
THE HEATHEN RELIGIONS. 

In order to have a proper appreciation of the work and neces- 
sity of Foreign Missions there should be some understanding of 
the difference between Christianity and the other rehgions from 
the grasp of which it is the purpose of missionary effort to rescue. 
There has not been, is not any race or nationahty that has not 
some kind of rehgion. There is implanted in every human breast 
an instinctive sense of homage to some higher power. All 
men are born with an intuitive consciousness of the ex- 
istence of a creator and of an obligation to serve 
Him. But that all religions are therefore equally mer- 
itorious and elevating and that all men should be left undisturb- 
ed to follow their consciences no sane man who has been a 
witness to the degrading influences of idolatrous religions and 
whose reason has compelled a comparison of them with Chris- 
tianity can for a moment believe. 

In preceding chapters reference has been made to the various 
forms of heathenism and it will not be necessary to repeat them. 
But as a summing up and in order to understand what these 
various religions require of their devotees, a separate chapter with 
reference thereto may be of interest. The attempt will not be 
made to enter into any exhaustive analysis of these various be- 
liefs or any elaborate description of their forms of worship or of 
the eft'ects upon their worshippers. Only in a general way will 
attention be called to them and to the nations which believe in 
them and a brief comparison of them with Christianity will be 
made. 

(581) 



582 Around the World. 

While there are many religious faiths which are non-Christian 
there are four principal heathen religions, viz. : Buddhism, Shin- 
toism, Hinduism and Mohammedanism. Confucianism can hard- 
ly be called a religion. It is regarded more in the light of a 
philosophy. There are also many who will deny that ]\Ioham- 
medanism is heathen. For much of the Koran is taken from the 
Bible, and the existence of Christ is admitted, but only as a 
prophet. He is not regarded as Divine. 

After having spent several months mingling with people who 
profess these religions and having given some study to them, 
the solemn conviction is here expressed that the work of Chris- 
tianity in saving those who are called heathen would be material- 
ly aided if missionaries had a proper imderstanding of heathen 
creeds. There is much in these creeds that is good, much upon 
which Christianity may build, much in accord with the teachings 
of Christ. Many a missionary has made the fatal mistake of de- 
nouncing them in toto and thus arousing the resentment and an- 
tagonism of those whom they were trying to reach. It was be- 
cause the English committed this error that they brought 
upon themselves the horrible massacres of Calcutta and 
Cawnpore and Lucknow. Many a missionary has lost either his 
influence or his life in not understanding the important fact that 
no man will tolerate ridicule or denunciation of his religious 
belief. The more ignorant and the more in error the more intol- 
erant and dangerous he is liable to be. 

There are certain good things which all these heathen religion- 
tists hold in common and to which Christians can generally assent. 
Here are a few : 

They all teach respect and love of parents. The Shinto and 
Buddhist and Confucian and Hindu religions place special em- 



The Heathen Religions. 583 

phasis upon reverence of ancestors. They even go to excess and 
require that children shall be practically under parental control 
as long as their parents live and shall serve the latter until death. 
In these days of irreverence there is much in this fidelity to 
parents which Christians may study with profit. 

So far as we could observe the heathen are very devout, espe- 
cially are the Mohammedans and Hindus, more devout than 
Christians. They pray oftener and with more regularity. They 
are faithful to their creeds and are not tossed about by every 
wave of doctrine. 

They are temperate in the use of intoxicating drinks. Some of 
these religions formerly punished drunkenness with death. 
None of them encourage or foster saloons. We do not recall to 
have seen a drunken man among the millions of heathen in the 
Orient. All the drunken men we observed in that part of the 
world, we regret to say, were among those who came from lands 
claiming to be Christian, our own being largely represented. 

In the matter of love of parents, reverence, and temperance the 
heathen set us good examples. 

Their religions also teach the importance of bodily cleanliness, 
of frequent bathing, and they contribute regularly and liberally 
to the support of their worship. 

To reverence, filial obedience and temperance they add clean- 
liness and liberality. And many of these religions inculcate 
brotherly love and kindliness. 

There are also running through them all certain customs and 
observances quite sirrwlar to those of Christianity, so many of 
them that one can not resist the conclusion that they are off-shoots 
or perversions of it. 

In nearly all their forms of worship are certain sacrificial ofifer- 



584 Around the World. 

ings embodying the same idea of vicarious suffering as is that 
of the atonement contained in the ancient Hebrew rites, fore- 
shadowing the great sacrifice upon Calvary. 

The Altar of Heaven at Pekin, the Temple to Jupiter at Baal- 
bek and the Parthenon or the Temple to Athenae at Athens, four 
of the largest heathen temples in the world, were constructed 
after the plan of Solomon's Temple with surrounding courts, 
brazen lavers and altars of sacrifice in the outer courts, while 
the temples themselves are of the same general plan of construc- 
tion as that of Solomon with the two rooms and evidently design- 
ed for a similar mode of worship. 

As these were all built subsequent to Solomon's Temple one 
can not resist the conclusions that they were copies of it and that 
therefore their forms of worship and the religions they represent- 
ed must have descended in some way from it. 

In these temples are to be found carvings of a Tree of Life and 
seeming portrayals of Eden, while there are many designs recall- 
ing the ancient Mosaic law. 

The Hindus and possibly other idolatrous religions have the 
idea of a Trinity in their godhead and there is much in the 
teachings of Buddha and Confucius and the Hindu philoso- 
phers quite similar to those of Christ. 

Here are the five cardinal principles of Confucius : Propriety, 
righteousness, knowledge, benevolence, sincerity, all of which 
square with Christianity. 

Most, if not all of these religions teach an existence after 
death, but in a very different form from that taught in the Bible. 

Most of them teach the transmigration of souls, that after 
death the soul enters either into that of some other human being, 
or into some form of animal life. The Hindus believe that 



The Heathen Rehffions. 585 



"■ir) 



every animal or bird or insect contains the soul of some person 
who has died. Hence many of them refuse to kill any kind of 
animal, even a fly or a gnat or a serpent under the superstition 
that in doing so they might be slaying an ancestor. 

This is as far as they go in their idea of immortality, that 
life is reproduced in other life indefinitely. One theory is that 
every deformed or afflicted person inherits his affliction as a curse 
from some ancestor, or rather they consider disease or affliction 
as an evidence of an evil spirit in the person so afflicted. There- 
fore their religion does not teach them to minister to the weak, 
but to regard them as the victims of the disfavor of the gods. 
Instead of helping the weak they would destroy them and a 
heathen hospital or eleemosynary institution is something almost 
unknown. 

The Buddhist or Hindu or Shinto looks forward not to life 
after death but to annihilation as a blessing. They have none of 
the blessed hope of immortality which animates the Christian 
and cannot understand that spirit of love and unselfishness 
which is the chief element of Christianity. 

It is true that fraternalism and love of each other are taught 
and practiced, but for selfish reason, because it is better for the 
one who loves and not for the sake of the person upon whom 
affection is bestowed. 

Confucius had a golden rule, but it was negative, not positive as 
is the golden rule of the Bible. It ran as follows : "Do not unto 
others as ye would not have others do unto you." It lacked the ele- 
ment of imselfishness contained in the teachings of Christ. 

The social lives of the heathen are corrupt and immoral. 
Polygamy, concubinage, prostitution are not only tolerated but 
encouraged. Even the gods are said to practice them. The 



586 Around the World. 

purity of the home, the sanctity of the marriage tie is continually 
and flagrantly violated. Women are looked upon as inferior be- 
ings and are not placed upon a position co-ordinate with man. 
They are not educated, are made burdenbearers, and the ad- 
vent of a girl baby is regarded such a misfortune that former- 
ly they were publicly drowned or strangled. While this is now 
forbidden by law there is but little doubt but that these hideous 
murders are still practiced secretly. 

The Hindus regard monkeys and cows and peacocks and 
pigeons as sacred. They even bow down and worship them. 
They believe the waters of the Ganges and the City of Benares to 
be hallowed and they have gods innumerable. 

While the Mohammedans believe in but one God they have 
numerous absurd superstitions and legends and their morals are 
but little better than are those of the Buddhists, the Shintoists, 
the Confucianists or the Hindus, 

The blessed doctrines of immortality and love and purity which 
characterize the religion of Christ do not animate these heathen 
religions. While Christianity everywhere elevates, heathenism 
always degrades and one has but to observe the effects of each 
upon the people to be convinced of the immeasurable superiority 
of Christianity over all other religious. 

No unprejudiced or intelligent observer can hesitate a moment 
in a decision between them. 

That Christianity is destined to make much more rapid progress 
in the near future than it has in the past there can be do doubt. 




Breathes there a man ivith soul so dead. 
Who ne^er to himself hath said: 

This is my o'Tvn, my nati<ve land. 
Whose heart hath ne'er %>ithin him burned, 
c/ls home his footsteps he has turned 

From. %>andering' on a foreign strand? 



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